Homeward Bound 5K draws donations for nonprofits

At least 70 people volunteered at the 12th annual Homeward Bound 5K Walk to pass out T-shirts, organize games for children and feed participants.

Homeward Bound seeks to unify and raise money for local organizations working to solve issues of homelessness in the area.

In 2010, an honors student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs studying homelessness estimated that at least 233 people in Bloomington were homeless in 2009. City council member Susan Sandberg said numbers are going up.

“As a general trend, there is a growing need for the social services here in Bloomington,” Sandberg said.

Emily Baumgartner said this was her first year volunteering. She said she believes the 5K plays an important part in ensuring the nonprofits get the money they need.

“We’re past our halfway point for donations,” Baumgartner said. “We have 30 days left to go, too.”

The 5K is entirely donation-based, with no minimum amount required to walk. Sandberg said the donations are important, as government funding for such programs is dwindling.

“In any given year, you never know how much you’re going to get,” Sandberg said. “Funding is shrinking. It’s disturbing. People need food stamps, the ability to receive subsidized housing. Social service providers are critical not just in emergencies but in day-to-day living.”

Volunteer Robert Clemons represented Martha’s House, an emergency housing shelter.

“Events like this bring a lot of attention to all the reasons why people are homeless,” Clemons said. “A lot of homeless people have jobs. Not all of them are mentally ill or addicts. We helped one woman who was released from the hospital and had nowhere to go. We don’t hear about people like that.”

Kay Goodman, a Bloomington resident, managed to break her family’s cycle of generational poverty. Goodman is a graduate of the Circles Initiative, an organization that pairs those in need with mentors who help them implement lifestyle changes.

Goodman said she was born into generational poverty, but the Circles Initiative helped her break the cycle.

“In high school, I was a drug addict,” Goodman said. “I was a single mother. I tried to go to college when my girls were young but had no money.”

Goodman finally reached out to the Circles program, and they paired her with a mentor who met with her twice a month.

“When you’re born poor, you don’t have the networking to help you out of your situation,” Goodman said.

She said her mentors helped her make connections she would otherwise have been without. They also helped her through Ivy Tech, where she studied social work.

“I hadn’t done a paper in years,” Goodman said. “I didn’t know algebra. When I had trouble submitting a paper late one night, I was able to call and ask for help.”

Goodman graduated from Ivy Tech in December. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society.

She joined the Circles Initiative as a volunteer and received a part time job with the South Central Community Action Program, another poverty-oriented nonprofit in Bloomington and where the Circles Initiative is based.

Goodman said her journey hasn’t always been easy or productive.

“I’ve had to leave friends behind from poverty,” Goodman said. “Not everyone is happy to see you do well.”

Sandberg said it’s often easier for people to ignore situations such as Goodman’s.

Events like Homeward Bound force public awareness to make sure people like Goodman aren’t forgotten.

“I still can’t believe I graduated college,” Goodman said. “I would show my girls my work, and I’d say ‘If a 55-year-old woman can do this, you can, too.’”

Goodman said one of her daughters is going to college in the fall.

“I’m a survivor. My family is a survivor family.”

Follow reporter Lyndsay Jones on Twitter @lyndsayjonesy.