WACO, Texas — More than a hundred people gathered in Waco to participate in the Walk for the Homeless, hosted by Mission Waco.
The walk included nine stops that showed off 16 different organizations and resources for people who are homeless in McLennan County.
Mission Waco executive director John Calaway says that since the walk started 15 years ago, the homeless population in McLennan County has declined but there is still more to be done.
“The purpose is to highlight all the incredible resources in our community for those struggling on the streets in McLennan County," Calaway said.
Mission Waco had many speakers, prayers, and health information at the event. One of those speakers spoke about keeping elected officials responsible for promises they make about affordable housing and helping the homeless.
“The goal is really for people to be praying, to be educated. So that they can not just hand a $5 bill to somebody they see on the streets, but actually understand and know what resources are at the fingerprints of those in our community.," Calaway said.
Calaway said many of the people living on the street are very resourceful like Robert Brown. He is a Waco native who has been homeless for 10-12 years, give or take, he said.
“I'm not like everybody else." he said. "I didn’t go panhandling, I don’t drink and do drugs, I have 38 years clean. I wanna work, it’s all I want, a chance. My social security doesn’t quite cut it, I get 795 with my social security and then my food stamps, and then that’s not enough to pay rent, ya know not here in Waco, no way.”
Brown says that he wants the stigma about homelessness to go away and that people don't understand what it is like.
“People don’t understand how easy they have it. They have a place they can go eat, get what they want out of their refrigerator, they can do whatever they want to, they have a bed to sleep in at night time, they can watch whatever they want on their TV, I don’t have that.”
Interested participants can visit the Mission Waco website for more info on how to get involved.
