Staff Writer

On Saturday morning, Shawn Washburn attempted something he had never done before: walk two miles.

Washburn and more than 50 others turned out to support the York County Shelter Program’s third annual “Helping the Homeless” walk-a-thon at Kennebunk’s Mother’s Beach.

“I wouldn’t be alive without (a) shelter,” Washburn said of a time in his life when he was living in a homeless shelter.

Washburn has been in an assisted living housing unit in Sanford for more than three and a half years. He has never stayed at any York County shelter but came to support the shelter as a way to give back.

Joan Sylvester, director of community relations for the York County Shelter Program, said the two-mile walk from Kennebunk’s Mother’s Beach to Gooch’s Beach was chosen so anyone could come out to support the shelter program.

As of Tuesday morning, the walk raised $12,500, but not all of the commitment checks had been collected and counted toward the end total.

Washburn wasn’t the only one at the walk giving back.

“With me, it is a payback for what they’ve done quite a few years ago for my grandson,” Arlene Gagnoan said.

Gagnoan volunteers at the shelter and has helped raise money for the walk. She said her grandson had trouble after his father died, but the shelter helped him and got him into sports.

“I told him 12 years ago that I’m going to pay (the shelter) back for that,” Gagnoan said.

York County Shelter Programs offers more than a place to stay for five families that inhabit the family units, or men and women who stay in 50 other beds for singles. The program offers food, medical and dental assistance and support for mental problems and drug and alcohol abuse.

“There’s a lot of real positive energy. It’s more than just a shelter program, there’s a continuation of care, whether legal, medical, dental or case managing,” said Wes Phinney, deputy director of York County Shelter Program.

Phinney said the program has three houses planned for formerly homeless people who have come through the doors of the shelter.

This is the third year Dusty Guarino has participated in the walk and the third anniversary of when she quit smoking. Guarino has been a case manager at the shelter for 19 years.

“Being at the shelter you get to do all kinds of things for all kinds of people,” Guarino said. “We have little tiny babies; (the shelter) is their first address. The people are sometimes 80 years old. I wonder why they’re here, why isn’t there more affordable housing.”

Only three of more than 50 beds at the shelter are empty, Guarino said. The shelter helps approximately 600 people a year.

Paul Gauthier and Beverly Murphy came to the walk as part of the First Church of Kennebunkport, which contributes to shelter programs and its pillow program.

Anyone who stays at the shelter gets to keep a pillow, but the gifts create a constant need for more pillows, Gauthier said.

York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette, who headed the walk, said his department supports the shelter by donating anything it can, such as old beds.

“The folks they deal with are the same folks we do, in a lot of ways,” Ouellette said.

Sylvester said the homeless problem in York County is far different than that in big cities, where people sleep on the street. Here, homeless people sleep on couches of family and friends or in vehicles in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

“This is my third year out here,” Jocelyn Hartford said. “I believe if you can do it and help out you should do it. We’re all a paycheck away from being in the same spot.”

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.