‘Help the Homeless’ Walk Will Start at Shelter on Sunday

(Updated at 7 p.m.) Reston residents can get some exercise this weekend and help needy people at the same time.

The Reston-based service organization Cornerstones will hold its 11th annual Help the Homeless Community Walk on Sunday to raise funds for locals the group has placed in their own homes.

Funds raised by the walk will buy essentials like food and household items for people who have moved into stable homes, spokeswoman Angela Suarez said.

“Fairfax is such a wealthy county, but we actually have a lot of homeless families. We have homeless families who are sleeping in their cars. We have homeless families who are sleeping in the woods,” she said. “And we can help them.”

The organization oriented toward self-sufficiency and helping clients get back on their feet sees people coping with unemployment, disabilities and aging, Suarez said.

Cornerstones, formerly called Reston Interfaith, runs the 70-bed Embry Rucker Community Shelter. The nonprofit found homes for 18 families and another 28 individuals between July 1 and Sept. 30, Suarez said.

More than 1,200 people are homeless in Fairfax County on a given night, Cornerstones says. Nearly a third of these are children.

Check-in for the 2-mile walk is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, with the walk starting at 1:30 p.m. Adults age 18 and older pay $25, kids age 17 and younger give $20, and families with three or more walkers give $50. Walkers will start at the shelter (11975 Bowman Towne Dr.), head to St. Anne’s Episcopal Church (1700 Wainwright Dr.) and loop back.