Dozens of young people took to the streets of San Diego Thursday with a message close to their hearts.
"A roof for every youth!" they chanted as they marched to Balboa Park for a rally.
The Youth Runaway and Homelessness Awareness Walk and Rally was organized by the YMCA of San Diego County to raise awareness of homelessness.
Some of the people who walked were homeless, had been homeless, or provided services for people without permanent shelter.
Two of the marchers, David Baker and Justin Lipford, had been walking for four days. They started their journey at the YMCA in Long Beach.
"It has been a work of labor," Baker said. He is a YMCA youth services director for San Diego. "Let's just say that but our passion is driving us."
"What I found is people are just not aware of this issue," Lipford said. He is the director of community engagement for the YMCA of San Diego. "They’re not aware of the fact that every night there’s over 1,000 young people on the streets trying to survive."
Still, Lipford said he's really hopeful.
"I believe that if people hear about this, they’re going to be compelled to, at the very least, change their opinion and idea of someone experiencing suffering," Lipford said.
Baker said throughout their journey from Long Beach to San Diego, he and Lipford used only the resources that a young person experiencing homelessness would use. They walked and rode public transit, visiting homeless shelters along the way.
The worst part about being homeless, said Baker, was not physical.
"There were some of those long strips where we were just walking, and it’s only the two of us, and it made me reflect on moments where I felt so alone and disconnected from resources and help, and almost disconnected from my future," Baker said.
But Lipford said it's physical too.
"The hardest part physically though is not getting the rest, not getting the sleep, not getting the basic recharge we all have, waking up in the morning cold, not having the place to use the restroom," Lipford said.
Calling attention to this issue is personal for Baker. He was homeless and got help from the YMCA.
"It's almost walking in steps that remind me how difficult it was to escape homelessness, and also kind of keeps me rooted. And (these are) the same things the people I work with are experiencing," Baker said.
Their journey is about hope, and they feel they have already made an impact along the way.
"The biggest win for me was that our YMCA in Long Beach formed a new relationship with the youth homeless provider within their community," Lipford said. "Now that community is that much stronger and able to help so that feels great those kinds of wins that we get excited about."
Baker, Lipford and the other marchers were met with cheers when they arrived at the Balboa Park rally. San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher commended the YMCA Youth and Family Services of San Diego County for their leadership and services.
But that's not the end of the road for the Baker and Lipford. On Friday, they will walk on to Chula Vista, with a 3 p.m. rally at the Border View Family YMCA. That will make it a total of 125 miles and five rallies.
