A couple of years ago when a group of friends started planning a cross-country cycling trip, they had to ask themselves why. Why are we doing this? Who else could benefit from this besides ourselves?
Dave Halstead and Lilly Boulianne of Vancouver and Edward Collister and Solange Cyr of Quebec City, Canada, hope to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness as they pedal their way from Seaside, Ore. to Boston. They’re athletic 60-something-year-olds, retired and eager to make the 67-day, 4,000-some-mile trip, which began Saturday after they loaded up an RV on Friday and headed for the coast.
As members of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Halstead and Boulianne are well-aware that homelessness is a major problem and that there is a lack of affordable housing. St. Andrew runs a winter shelter for women and families. Seeing children running around the makeshift shelter gives you a different perspective on homelessness, he said.
“We hope we can share our experiences here in Clark County and learn what’s going on across the country,” Halstead said.
Halstead is part of an interfaith group that is figuring out a way to keep income-limited seniors in their homes. St. Andrew has even begun exploring the feasibility of building apartments on church property, he said.
Halstead and Boulianne, his wife, haven’t made a coast-to-coast trek by bicycle before, but were inspired by a cycling trip Collister made across Canada. Halstead said they’ve done Cycle Oregon, Cycle Montana and other long rides to prep for the big trip. Cyr (who’s more of a golfer than a cyclist) will be driving the RV behind the three.
They’ve contacted some Lutheran churches along their route, to see about parking the RV in their lots, and have already learned about homeless programs that those churches sponsor.
The group aims to raise money for Vancouver’s Council for the Homeless along with Quebec City’s Lauberiviere.
Charlene Welch, development and community relations manager at Council for the Homeless, said they are inviting people to donate to the nonprofit in honor of the group cycling across America. Throughout the 2 1/2-month journey, they will post updates on social media and Halstead plans to maintain a blog of their trip. Afterwards they plan to follow-up with the group and see what they gleaned from other areas of the country struggling with homelessness.
