CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Tom Lacey, director of Falmouth Housing Authority; Caroline Corrigan, manager at Homeless Not Hopeless, and Don Jenkins, a volunteer, talk about the Bob Murray Homeless Not Hopeless Walk.
HYANNIS – The Housing with Love Walk was conceived as a way to help those families on the Cape that are one paycheck away from homelessness.
The late housing advocate Bob Murray, who founded the walk 23 years ago, knew that helping a family with an unexpected bill was much less expensive and more compassionate than housing them in a homeless shelter.
Tom Lacey, who now holds Murray’s former job as director of the Falmouth Housing Authority, said Murray was often asked why he scheduled the walk in the heat of the summer on some of the Cape’s busiest roadways.
“He used to say, ‘because the discomfort that I feel is nothing compared to the discomfort of homelessness.’ I think that’s a clear representation of why Bob created this walk and why he felt so passionate about what he did,” Lacey said.
The Bob Murray Housing with Love Walk, a fundraiser to benefit 11 nonprofit housing organizations began today in Provincetown and finishes on Sunday, July 19, in Falmouth.
Every year a few people succeed in walking the entire distance of the walk, typically about 100 miles over the course of a week. Murray used to go the distance every year. Last year, Lacey did the entire walk in honor of Murray.
Don Jenkins, a volunteer with the walk, described Murray as “tireless in his efforts to help people who need help to keep a roof over their heads.”
The walk is a collaboration of 11 agencies involved in housing issues and funds can be donated to individual agencies or to the walk as a whole.
Jenkins said the walk typically raises from $220,000 to $250,000 per year and that money is critical.
COURTESY BOB MURRAY HOUSING WITH LOVE WALK
Walkers going the distance on the Bob Murray Housing with Love Walk in 2014.
“Homeless prevention is not heavily funded by the state. Most of the state’s funding goes to homeless services, which is important. So these agencies rely very heavily on private donations. That’s why this walk is so important,” Jenkins said.
One of the agencies that has participated in recent years is Homeless Not Hopeless, a nonprofit transitional housing program that was started in 2007 by formerly homeless people
“It’s a hand up, not a hand out,” said Carolyn Corrigan, a manager at Homeless Not Hopeless, about the purpose behind the organization. Homeless Not Hopeless currently has four residences where people can apply to live on a temporary basis until they find more permanent housing. Residents are asked to work or volunteer.
“It’s an opportunity to put your life back together again. All of the houses are managed by formerly homeless people. And we think it works and we’re pretty proud of it,” Corrigan said.
Corrigan theorized on why people participate in the walk and help in other ways year after year. “I think once you become involved in helping the homeless, it’s something you can’t really leave, because it’s very rewarding. From my end, I see the change in a person. Once they have a roof over their head, they’re more likely to succeed. It’s very difficult to work, go to school or put your life back together when you don’t have a roof over your head,” she said.
Lacey said Bob Murray is very much present in the minds of the walkers. “This walk to me is really a legacy and a testament to Bob. When you have 11 agencies that are all really in the same business and you can be going for the same funding, in other places it can get territorial but around here this is a collaboration. So people can support this walk and know every dollar is going to go as far as it can possibly go,” he said.
Jenkins said the walk helps neighbors. “These people that need our help are all around us. They’re driving our school buses. They’re waiting on tables. They’re taking care of the landscaping. They’re taking care of our elderly relatives in nursing homes. They’re working hard but the wages don’t go far enough. . . . They’re almost there but they need some help,” he said.
Listen below to hear Don Jenkins, Caroline Corrigan of Homeless Not Hopeless and Tom Lacey, director of the Falmouth Housing Authority, discuss the Bob Murray Housing with Love Walk.
