I Would Walk 1,100 Miles for Homeless Kids

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-06-17 11:47:00 UTC
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Tweens rejoice: school is out for the summer! But 14-year old David Ashby won't be heading to baseball camp or pool parties this summer. Instead, he is walking 1,100 miles from Orlando to Washington DC, averaging 21 miles a day, to raise awareness about homeless children.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Ashby came up with the idea after learning that 70 of his classmates at Lee Middle School were homeless. He wanted to do something to shed light on the issue, something to make people pay attention. 

"My goal is to give these children a voice, experience their pain, listen to their fears and share their hopes and dreams with the world," he said amid a brief ceremonial farewell at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

During his two-month journey, he will sleep in homeless shelters. He will survive on shelter food (except for two additional energy bars per day... doctor's orders). His mother will follow him in the family mini-van. His journey will end in mid-July on the steps of the Capitol Building where he hopes to meet with President Obama. 

You can track David's progress on Central Florida's Coalition for the Homeless' blog.

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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