Success Stories
Detroiters Take a Walk to Fight Homelessness
About 12 years ago, the Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND) tried an idea to help raise funds for homeless programs and to build awareness of homelessness in the Greater Detroit area. The idea worked so well it has since become a branded event that Detroit-area people have come to expect every autumn.
“It’s our annual Walk Against Homelessness,” explains Amanda Sternberg, program director of HAND. “Individuals and organizations pay a small fee to participate, and there are also sponsorship opportunities to have their name on the Walk T-shirts.”
Many of the participants are homeless or formerly homeless people who understand, firsthand, the importance of the work HAND does. Other participants include the general public and people from partnering organizations involved in ending homelessness. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) have been consistent supporters for many years. HAND has also been pleased to have the support and participation of several Detroit City Council members in this event.
The object is to raise funds for the work HAND has been doing to end homelessness in Detroit, but the publicity it garners about the issue of homelessness pays even greater dividends. “Traditionally we have partnered with a popular local radio station, WKQI 95.5 Detroit, and a specific program, Mojo in the Morning,” explained Sternberg. “Mojo and his family are always huge supporters of this event, and this past year Mojo helped kick off the Walk with a short rally to get the participants excited before hitting the streets.”
Mojo was also one of the co-Grand Marshals of the Walk Against Homelessness, along with multimedia personality, author, and owner of Foxworth Marketing Group, Ed Foxworth. “Mr. Foxworth did some pro bono public relations work for us with the media. He and Mojo reach a variety of different audiences, to broaden the scope of awareness. With wonderful supporters like these, we were able to create wider awareness of homeless issues in the Detroit area,” said Sternberg.
The Walk Against Homelessness begins at the New Center Area and takes walkers down Woodward Avenue to Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit and back again. “It’s about a six-mile walk altogether,” said Sternberg, “and a very visible venue so people can see us, see our T-shirts, and be aware of what we’re working for.”
Sternberg says the Detroit Police Department is very helpful in directing traffic where needed, and is another example of how the Walk has garnered widespread community support.
HAND is the Continuum of Care for the Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck area, and includes more than 70 member organizations. Its mission: “To increase awareness of the problems of people who are homeless and to the development and carrying out of strategies to create permanent solutions to homelessness in our community.” For more information about HAND and the Walk Against Homelessness in Detroit, visit www.handetroit.org.
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