This year’s hike will take place at locations throughout our area
BANGOR — Every year, the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter sponsors a hike to help those who don’t have a roof over their heads. Ordinarily, close to a thousand area residents take time out of their busy lives to walk and raise money to help the homeless with a hike that begins and ends at the Bangor waterfront. Families, individuals, organizations, schools, churches, businesses and clubs take part in this annual event.
“Unfortunately, our country is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the current public health crisis, the Shelter decided it would make more sense to hold a virtual hike this year,” said Boyd Kronholm, executive director of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter. “This would help keep all of the shelter’s supporters healthy while still allowing participants to support the needs of persons experiencing homelessness.”
A virtual hike works exactly the same as any other type of walkathon. The difference is that individuals can participate at any location and at any pace, instead of following a prescribed route as a group. Hikers can walk outdoors or inside on a treadmill. All that’s required is for individuals to register for the Hike for the Homeless and to provide evidence that they have traveled the required distance on foot.
This virtual hike format provides local Bangor area residents with the opportunity to get some outdoor exercise while raising money for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. It’s scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 3. Registration is currently open. Participants will receive a Hike for the Homeless t-shirt and keychain. All proceeds from the Hike will benefit the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.
“A homeless shelter is more than a place where people can get out of the cold,” continued Kronholm. “The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter is working to end homelessness. Our services provide the support persons experiencing homelessness need to get a job, get an apartment and permanently change their lives for the better.”
“Everybody wins when the Shelter can help a person get off the streets. The homeless individual, businesses and the community all benefit,” said Lisa M. Shaw, president of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter’s Board of Directors. “Working together with state agencies, local governments, and area residents, I’m confident that we can find solutions that will help the homeless transition from hopelessness to happiness as contributing, productive members of our community.”
“But to do that, we need resources,” continued Shaw. “Unfortunately, reduced government support is making fundraising events like the Hike for the Homeless even more essential for our organization. Money raised through the hike helps our organization provide the essential services our guests need including: food, shelter, crisis intervention, and connections to services, including medical and psychiatric care.”
In 2019-20, 989 Hike for the Homeless participants raised $41,600 to help Bangor Area Homeless Shelter guests. These financial resources are being put to good use. Last year, 88 individuals were placed into permanent, stable housing. In addition, the Shelter provided temporary housing for 373 overnight guests.
The Shelter also works to address food insecurity. In 2019, the Shelter served 14,006 meals to the needy in their soup kitchen while supplying 1,037 households with food through the organization’s food pantry.
“Just because the homeless don’t have some of the things you and I take for granted, doesn’t mean that they should be disregarded or treated with contempt. Shelter guests may not have a home, but they’re still people. They’re somebody’s brother, mother, father, sister and as a society, and we should be trying to help them. It’s up to all of us to make the world a better place,” concluded Kronholm.
Those interested in participating in the hike are asked to register at https://www.bangorareashelter.org/hike-for-the-homeless.
The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter is a dry shelter whose mission is to support and strengthen the community by providing emergency shelter and supportive services to people who are homeless or at risk and to advocate for collaborative, locally driven solutions to end homelessness. The Shelter’s goal is to have all guests transitioned into suitable, stable, housing in 30 days or less. The facility provides emergency, short-term shelter to homeless adults and very low income members of the greater Bangor area, age 18 and above. The Shelter’s primary purpose is to offer a form of crisis stabilization and then develop a support system to empower people to move beyond their current crises and find long-term shelter.
At the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, 23 full- and part-time employees, along with scores of volunteers, work to provide shelter, crisis intervention, hot meals, and a safe environment for those experiencing homelessness. BAHS provides important connections to services, including medical and psychiatric care. For more information, visit BangorAreaShelter.org.