Homelessness matters: Winter Walk coming to Western Mass.

Jan. 24, 2023 | Miasha Lee

SPRINGFIELD – The Winter Walk, an organization raising awareness around issues of homelessness, is launching its first event in Springfield on Feb. 5 from 9 to 11 a.m. Every year in February they host an outdoor event bringing together participants from all walks of life, housed and homeless, to walk together and hear stories from people with lived experience of homelessness. The walk will start and end on Court Square through downtown Springfield followed by a community breakfast.

“We have six walks under our belt in Boston,” said Executive Director Ari Barbanell. “We’re about to enter our seventh and this is the first time we’ve been able to expand and move into Western Massachusetts with our first event happening here in Springfield.”

She went on to say, “Western Massachusetts is massive and we want to reach every corner. The walk is happening in Springfield, but we want to represent all of the communities of Hampden County. We thought it would be best to start and make an impact there.”

Founder/CEO of Newsmaker Marketing Jackie Bruno will host this year’s walk. The Winter Walk has six partners: the Center for Human Development (CHD), Clinical and Support Options (CSO) who run Friends of the Homeless, Mental Health Association (MHA), Providence Ministries, Springfield Health Services for the Homeless and the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness who will receive the funding from the walk itself. One hundred percent of what the organization will raise goes back to those partners and providers.

Bruno stated, “I love the Winter Walk because it highlights how much need there is in the homeless population. The work that Ari Barbanell and her team do to give back to this community is so important.” She continued, “Springfield, like a lot of Massachusetts cities and communities, are struggling with a homeless population that needs assistance in the forms of housing, food, and medical or mental health assistance. By joining the Winter Walk, you’re directly raising money to help this issue and raising awareness about the need which is great.”

Winter Walk was founded in 2016 by Boston entrepreneur/philanthropist Paul English. He wanted to get more involved in demystifying and destigmatizing homelessness. He gathered a group of local advocates and together decided to start this event. The walk has developed into a year-round organization where they’re doing all sorts of community outreach, connecting with local service providers and providing year-round education and awareness.

“We began as a community event in solidarity outside in the cold, rain, snow or shine and we were overwhelmed with the response,” Barbanell said. “People showed up and people cared. The homeless community in Greater Boston where we started felt that they had a voice, so it was really the gathering of people from every walk of life coming together to say that homeless people matter and ending homelessness matters.”

They realized they needed to have a year-round presence, that this destigmatizing work that they do needs to be yearly so that people can learn that if they break down some of their assumptions of homelessness it really opens the floodgates to making systemic change. Winter Walk is working with students from kindergarten through grade 12, doing programming, curriculum, education, and bringing in people who they work with lived experience of homelessness to share their stories. They are also working with community groups, faith groups, businesses and corporations to start talking about the different issues around homelessness.

“Sometimes success is simply just changing your perception,” Barbanell said. “If we can be a small part of raising awareness so that more people are activated to do something about it then we’ve done our work and so that’s the hope.”

For registration, go to winterwalk.org and select the Western Mass. walk. There is no requirement to donate or fundraise. This walk is accessible to everyone, yet there are suggestions for how people can give and fundraise. For those with mobility issues or those who don’t feel safe walking, they are still welcomed to join the event and be on the plaza.

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