Filthy, hopeless, unfit, dangerous. These are just a few of many stigmas homeless people face daily. The lack of education and awareness about homelessness breeds misconceptions.
But for 24 hours, homeless people will speak out to break the misunderstandings that surround homelessness.
WMPG, USM’s community radio station, will host a live radio show to raise awareness on homelessness in Maine. The station will participate in the fifth national Annual Homeless Marathon, aired nationally for one hour at 7 a.m. this Wednesday.
“There are just so many issues about homelessness that beg people to be educated about it,” said Karen D’Andrea, host/producer of Sound Ecology, an environmental and ecological based radio show on WMPG, who coordinated the local marathon.
Each year the national program is hosted outdoors from various cities across the nation by Jeremy Weir, radio name, “Nobody.” Weir travels to different locations to show that homelessness exists in every state. He forces people to open their eyes to the situation D’Andrea said.
This year Weir will be broadcasting from Portland, Ore.
“‘Nobody’ stays outside to represent people who are always cold and don’t have anywhere to go. He goes by “Nobody’ to keep awareness on the marathon and not on him,” D’Andrea said. “I wanted to support what he does. It’s very important. He’s not just raising money; he’s raising awareness.”
The local marathon will run from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday in Monument Square. The local show has a variety of events planned for the duration. The show will hold a panel discussion about rural homelessness, a midday discussion on children, domestic violence and homelessness, and an open speak-out session and poetry reading at 9 p.m.
Representatives from more than 24 shelters and service care providers for homeless people will be at the event. Information tables will be set up with resources for people who are homeless and educational materials will be available for people who have questions about homelessness. Mayor Karen Geraghty and Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion will stay awake and participate in the 14-hour broadcast throughout the night. Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Portland Police Department lent their mobile command centers to help people stay warm and rest. The Salvation Army will offer meals, coffee and hot cocoa through their mobile canteen.
“The response from people wanting to help has been amazing. The generosity is overwhelming,” D’Andrea said.
WMPG did not spend any money on the event, D’Andrea said. The marathon was set-up completely through people’s donations of work, time, supplies and experience. For example, portable toilets were donated and WBLM lent their van and engineers to set up the site. D’Andrea will broadcast live every hour on the hour throughout the day and can be heard at 90.9FM. If those two signals are out of range the show will also be broadcast live through WMPG’s Web site, www.wmpg.org.
The national show can be heard on about 30 different AM stations.
D’Andrea emphasizes the importance of the broadcast and the need for education on homeless issues including elderly homeless people, health care, mental health, substance abuse, homeless families and children, pregnant teens, domestic violence and homeless people who work. These issues are only the tip of the iceberg, D’Andrea said.
“People don’t understand what it means to be homeless and what it’s like. The real fact is that we’re all just human beings on this planet and we all need better understandings of who we are. We need to walk in one another’s shoes,” D’Andrea said.
D’Andrea hopes the event will create a greater understanding of homeless issues and break the stigmas that are embedded in homelessness.
“Homeless people shouldn’t be made fun of or stared at, ridiculed or discriminated against. I want them to feel like we care about them. They are a part of the community. I want people to know that every person who is homeless out there had a home. They had friends, neighbors and families. Those people are basically us,” D’Andrea said.
News Editor Sherry Whittemore can be reached at [email protected]