ShelterWalk Draws More than 350 for 25th Anniversary

The 25th annual ShelterWalk topped last year's turnout with a little over 350 walkers for a warm fall morning Saturday. 

Vic Ramos ran music as scores of people registered for the three-mile walk at 9 a.m., donning blue ShelterWalk T-shirts as they collected in River Island Park to listen to brief remarks from Mayor Leo Fontaine, WPRI Weatherman Tony Petrarca, Ben Lessing, FRCA Executive Director, and ShelterWalk Co-Chairs Council VP Dan Gendron and Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Carey. 

With the formalities out of the way, a conspicuously blue-clad parade of walkers strolled up Main Street for a round trip back to the park, getting encouraging honks from drivers and curious glances from people who were occasionally surprised to learn about ShetlerWalk, the cause for the city's homeless and the Woonsocket shelter for the homeless at 176 Sayles St., which the walk passed.  

ShelterWalk supports the shelter and homelessness prevention programs. The shelter serves 250 individuals a year, half of them children. In addition to emergency housing, families are linked to other services including employment & training, financial literacy and basic needs support to help them transition to safe, permanent housing.