Teen reaches DeLand on 1,100-mile walk to help homeless

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
Walking for a cause — David Ashby, left, walks through South DeLand accompanied by his cousin Whitney Taylor, who joined him for the Sanford-to-DeLand leg. David plans to walk from Orlando to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the plight of the homeless, especially homeless children.

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jun 26, 2009 - 8:57:09am

This fall, when students write the standard "What I did during summer vacation" essays for English class, one boy's will stand out — just a little.

In Orlando June 15, David Ashby, 14, began a 1,100-mile journey to the nation's capital — on foot. He figures it will be a 57-day walk.

David reached DeLand on Day 2, where he visited the Interfaith Caregivers Agape Clubhouse in the basement of First United Methodist Church, and ate the same meal provided to the poor and homeless.

His mission is simple: raise awareness of homeless children and, maybe, inspire regular folks to get up and make a difference.

David's walk interrupted by sister's injury. Read the story here.

When The Beacon literally caught up with David on South Woodland Boulevard Tuesday, he was finishing the final two miles of a grueling 17-mile day.

"I'm getting a little sore, but it's not too bad," he said.

His cousin Whitney Taylor, 22, joined David for the Sanford-to-DeLand leg of his journey. She said the walking wasn't too unbearable until the Florida heat really started pounding down.

Tuesday's temperatures reached 95 degrees.

David expects to walk through three pairs of shoes, one about every 300-500 miles. He stops and changes shoes periodically through the day.

David hopes his journey, first, causes people to take notice and pay attention, not to him, but to the people he's walking for.

"A homeless person is actually a person," David said. "I want people to go spend some time at a homeless shelter."

Second, he said, he wants people to understand that not just single, drug-addicted men are homeless. Women and children, and husbands and wives are now homeless.

"Families with children are the fastest-growing segment of homeless," he said. "Most shelters in Central Florida are at capacity."

David's mother, Alison Ashby, supports her son's journey, following along behind him in the family van.

"I can honestly tell you there is nothing he'd rather be doing with his summer," she said.

She said homelessness touched close to home for David.

"His best friend wound up homeless," she said. "Here's his best friend of six years staying in a hotel."

The boy's parents were evicted and bounced around from place to place. The friend lived with David for several months.

Then David found out his friend's situation was not unique. There were 70 homeless kids at his school alone.

After doing his homework, and doing it well, he developed a plan to walk 1,100 miles from Orlando to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the problem. Then he told his mother.

"He said, 'I'm not coming to you for permission,'" Alison Ashby said. "He said, 'I'm coming to you for support.'"

She shared her son's conviction that they could figure out how to do this.

"He continues to amaze me every day," Alison Ashby said.

David has three younger siblings: Sister Aubrey is 10, brother Chase is 5, and his half brother Cameron is 7. They are spending the summer with other family members while David and his mother are on the road.

Tuesday afternoon, Tony Schefstad, executive director of the Volusia/Flagler Coalition for the Homeless, met up with Ashby, and walked about three hours with him on the last leg of the journey to DeLand.

"Other 14-year olds are doing comfortable things," Schefstad said. "It is absolutely remarkable that someone of his age would even consider something of this magnitude."

And the magnitude of the problem is nearly as humbling.

Schefstad said at the end of this school year, there were more than 2,000 homeless children in Volusia and Flagler counties.

"Children who are homeless are often moving and have no permanent address. Some have a roof over their head," he said.

But others have no shelter.

Andy and Missy Kelly of DeLand work with the homeless almost every day.

Missy Kelly knows of one young couple with a 1-year-old baby who are living in the woods.

"It's sad," she said.

Missy Kelly is secretary of the Volusia/Flagler Coalition for the Homeless, a clearinghouse for grants, information and assistance. The agency assists organizations like The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, Agape Clubhouse and the Family Renew Center in the DeLand area, as well as the Star Center in East Volusia, and other organizations.

The Kelly family also serves at Interfaith Kitchen in DeLand on Fridays. There, Missy Kelly is seeing more families, especially young families who need food assistance. While she can't be certain they are homeless, she does know they are in need.

Her husband, District 1 Volusia County Council Member Andy Kelly, is working on a list of items shelters constantly need, and is campaigning at the county level for expanded services in West Volusia to help the homeless.

One of the needed items, of course, is money. But Missy Kelly said old-fashioned kindness and compassion are often in short supply.

"It astounds me the way people treat other people," she said. "You hear people say, 'Well, they chose to be homeless; they chose to live in the woods.' That may be true, but they still want to be clean; they still want to be recognized as a human being."

She said homeless people need common items many people take for granted.

"When you wake up in the morning, shower and brush your teeth, those are the things," she said.

Towels, toothpaste, socks and shoes.

"And anything you can use camping. Especially bug spray," she added.

To help locally, either by volunteering or donating, contact the Volusia/Flagler Coalition for the Homeless at (386) 258-1855. They can provide a list of area agencies that can use your help.

As for David's cause and his walk, donations to help defray the cost of the trip — including gas money for Mom — can be made via David's Web site — www.helpingstepbystep.com — or may be mailed to Helping Step by Step, c/o David Ashby, P.O. Box 540705, Orlando, FL 32854-0705.

To read the blog David is writing while on his journey, visit www.helpingstepbystep.blogspot.com.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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