Hawai’i volunteers walk the walk in raising homelessness awareness

Last year, Walk the Talk Hawai'i raised nearly $15,000 to create mobile shelters for the homeless.

This year, over one million Americans have lost their jobs and the number of families facing the realities of homelessness is increasing.

The difficult times come amidst an ongoing crisis declaration on homelessness in Hawai'i, recognized by Gov. Linda Lingle.

In a continuing response to create shelters and raise public awareness, this year's Walk the Talk charity event, organized by Hawai'i Helping the Hungry Have Hope (H5), strikes an even greater chord with the community, says volunteer Curtis Kropar.

"The whole point of this is awareness," says Kropar, who will be participating in Walk the Talk for the third year in a row—walking all 10 days and 130 miles around the island. "It's not us and them. It's us. We're all facing these issues."

Participants in the event register to take part in a march around O'ahu that starts at the State Capitol and makes its way through all corners of the island from Wednesday, Nov. 12 through Friday, Nov. 21.

All money raised goes toward the EVANS Bus Project—a program created by H-5, which converted donated tour buses into mobile shelters for the homeless.

Supporters are welcome to join the march for any amount of time or length, whether it's one hour or ten days.

To learn more information about the event, to participate, or to sponsor a walker, visit walkthetalkhawaii.org, call (808) 222-6039, or visit H5 at 1020 S. Beretania Street.