|
 The 9th Annual Homelessness Marathon is set to air from Atlanta starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15th. The Marathon is a unique 14-hour live broadcast focusing on homelessness and poverty in America.
The Homelessness Marathon is a consciousness-raising, not a fund-raising broadcast. There are no on-air solicitations. Instead, the Marathon presents the voices of experts, takes calls from around the country and, above all, puts homeless people on the air directly so America can hear who they really are and learn about the obstacles they face.
The Homelessness Marathon regularly covers topics other broadcasts don't touch. For example, six months before Katrina hit, we aired a segment entitled, "Hurricanes and Homelessness." Some of the tough questions we'll be raising this year include, "Why is there growing friction between Katrina survivors and people who are homeless for other reasons?" and, "Has the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless sold out the very homeless people it is supposed to protect?" But the toughest question is also the simplest one, and we ask it every year: "Why are people sleeping on the streets of the richest country in the history of the world?"
The Homelessness Marathon has been a very well-received broadcast. The first Marathon aired on a single small station. Last year's 8th Marathon was on 95 stations coast-to-coast, with another 30 or so stations across Canada carrying a parallel Canadian Homelessness Marathon.
The Homelessness Marathon will be hosted in Atlanta by 100,000 watt community radio station, WRFG, and by the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless. Additional information, including, broadcast schedules and sound clips from past Marathons, words of praise for the broadcast, and our growing list of affiliates can be found at the Marathon's web site www.homelessnessmarathon.org |
