Hike for the homeless to increase visibility

BANGOR – The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter will hold its 12th annual Hike for the Homeless on Saturday, May 5 – but in a different way.

While climbing down Cadillac Mountain last year, one of the shelter’s directors commented that the event was fun, fostered camaraderie and helped raise some needed money, but added, “This isn’t good enough! No one knows we’re out here. We need to hold this hike where people can see it – right down Main Street, USA.”

So, with the help of a newly formed development committee and a lot of area support, plans have been under way for a new hike – from Hampden, Bangor, Veazie and Brewer, to the shelter on Main Street and then to the Bangor waterfront.

“We are placing an emphasis on education and participation this year,” said Dennis Marble, executive director.

“The numbers of people experiencing homelessness, the length of time they are spending in beds in emergency shelters and costs born by these local nonprofits have been steadily increasing for the last decade,” he said. “We know that there are a lot of compassionate people in our communities, and we wanted to find a way to make homelessness visible and provide a means for folks to pitch in and show that they cared.”

Corporate sponsorship for the event is provided once again by Trans-Tech Industries Inc. in Brewer, the Bangor Daily News and WLBZ NewsCenter 2.

Marble said there are a number of different ways people can participate – walking on the day of the event, buying and selling raffle tickets, sponsoring other hikers or teams, or by simply making a financial donation to the shelter.

For details on hiking, how to purchase or sell raffle tickets, or other information, call the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter at 947-0092 or e-mail bahs@gwi.net.