'Walk a Mile in Their Shoes' focuses on Manatee's homeless

MANATEE -- Manatee County mom Kierra Mallory was scared of being homeless this month, especially scared for her daughter, Janiah, a bouncy 2-year-old.

"I fell on hard times," the 25-year-old said Thursday. "I'm a single mom. It's just me and my daughter. I didn't want her to be on the street."

Although Mallory has a job in the health care field, her $600 a month rent and $600 a month day care bill overwhelmed her budget.

The nonprofit Turning Points, 701 17th Ave. W., Bradenton, stepped in, Mallory said.

"Turning Points got me through," Mallory said.

The agency that serves the homeless with showers, a laundry, mail services, computer access and more, also has programs to prevent homelessness, such as rent assistance grants to those who qualify, said Delia Smith, who became Mallory's case worker and helped her get a grant for a month of rent and figure a way to have family help with day care.

"Thank God she is not homeless," Smith said. "That's the whole point of her coming to us, to prevent her from becoming homeless."

The pot of money for helping families like Mal

lory's keep a roof over their heads is supplemented by a major annual event called "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes."

Turning Points' fourth annual "Walk" is 4-6 p.m. Saturday at Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island and a crowd of 500 is expected, said Margi Dawson, development director for Turning Points.

"Every year the walk brings awareness to the plight of the homeless in Manatee County," Dawson said, "It gives the opportunity for everyone in the community to come together in support of these families."

Registration begins at 4 p.m. with the one-mile family fun walk at 5:30 p.m. and a post-walk party and sunset watch at 6 p.m. Registration is free for children younger than age 5, $10 for students and older children, $20 for individual adults and $45 for families, Dawson said.

"People can also sponsor a child to walk for $10 or sponsor 10 children to walk for $100 or sponsor 25 children to walk for $250," Dawson said.

Entertainment includes a DJ and music, food and drinks, face painting, family pictures, drawings and raffles, t-shirts for pre-registered walkers, a rock climbing wall, kid's activities, a Zumba exhibition and a sand castle contest going on between local schools, Dawson said.

A short program on homelessness will take place at 5 p.m. and Bradenton gospel singer Shantel Norman will sing the National Anthem, Dawson added.

The walk will start at the south end of Coquina Beach.

Dawson estimates that 2,000 Manatee children will experience homelessness throughout 2016.

All of the proceeds from walk entries will go directly to fund programs benefiting homeless or nearly children and their families, according to Dawson.

"Every day we see so many families that come in needing assistance," Dawson said. "When they are able to get assistance it takes the stress out of their lives and they are able to continue."

In 2014-2015, a total of 582 households like the Mallorys got financial assistance from Turning Points, according to the agency's annual impact report.

To register for the walk: turningpointswalk.org or 941-747-1509. Additional information: tpmanatee.org.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 11:17 PM with the headline "'Walk a Mile in Their Shoes' focuses on Manatee's homeless ."