Uncategorized
Good Works Homeless Walk Celebrates 10 Years
< < Back toResidents of Athens County braved cold weather this weekend to spread awareness of homelessness in the area.
Good Works held its 10th annual Walk for the Homeless Saturday.
Multiple groups traveled around Athens to raise funds for its Timothy House shelter.
The shelter houses the rural homeless from nine neighboring Ohio counties.
Good Works Founder Keith Wasserman believes the walks have gotten better year after year.
“We’ve gotten more people to come, more support, we feel like we’ve got people beginning to understand and great people behind us,” Wasserman says.
Wasserman first started Good Works in 1981 after living as a homeless man in cities in the eastern United States. As a student at Ohio University, he welcomed homeless men and women into his off-campus house in Athens. The shelter moved into its current facility, the Timothy House, in 1985.
Wasserman’s goal is to have more participants each year, leading many Ohio University students to join the cause.
“I’ve never done it before, and I don’t even think I knew it existed,” says Junior Marika Bresler. “I think it’s really important that community bands together, and understands the situation that we’re in as a whole.”
Good Works also operates the Hannah House, which provides long-term housing to men and women looking for stability before becoming independent.
The next walk will be held in February, 2013.