Their feet, legs and backs are tired, but their hearts were full.
On Friday, David Baker and Justin Lipford finished a 125-mile walk from Long Beach to San Ysidro. Along the way, they hosted rallies, met with local leaders and walked with other people to raise awareness for youth homelessness.
“We are on a Solidarity Journey to show young people that we hear them. We see them,” explained Baker as they walked through Normal Heights early Friday.
Baker and Lipford are YMCA of San Diego employees.
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“It’s been great. It’s been meeting a lot of cool people, engaging in a lot of great conversations,” added Lipford. “If you think about this: 1,800 kids every night are on the streets, trying to survive, trying to stay warm, trying to look for something that resembles something stable.”
“We’re getting a lot of buy-in from people. They’re curious about the issue. They want to know what they can do to help,” continued Baker, who said his family was homeless through much of his childhood.
He said he was homeless and alone between the ages of 16 and 21.
“I definitely do still feel a bit of the pain that lingers from having to navigate that situation,” he sighed.
Baker said he finally found a place to live and land on his feet when the YMCA San Diego put him in one of the apartments throughout San Diego they manage. He became a YMCA employee once he left the program. The YMCA Youth Systems Director now manages the very homes he stayed in just a few years ago.
“If I wasn’t accepted into this program, I don’t know where I would be right now,” smiled Baker.
“He represents resilience. He represents beauty, represents growth, and for me and for the people that are connected to this line of work, that’s what it’s all about,” said Lipford.
Both men said they intend to engage even more people next year when they walk 500 miles from San Diego to Sacramento.
“Together we can do some great things to help these youngsters,” concluded Lipford.
