No one among those church volunteers on a cold night during the winter of 1987 knew how it would turn out. They were preparing food and setting up cots and organizing for a group of homeless people who would spend the night in the small, sparsely furnished parish hall. At seven o’clock, the doors opened, and men, women, and several children got ready to spend the next 12 hours in a warm, safe place.
It was a simple plan coordinated by a local nonprofit organization and involving several Prince William County, Va., churches. Beginning on a Sunday night, one church would host the shelter for one week, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. At the end of the week, volunteers from that church would bring supplies — cots, bedding, cooking equipment, and other items to the next church hosting the shelter. There were enough churches and enough turns to last through the winter of that year. Back then, there were no other shelters to house the homeless.
In the early stages of planning for this revolving shelter among churches, it became clear that more funds than initially envisioned would be needed to start and maintain the shelter. A $5,000 grant from the Hands Across America campaign helped bankroll the operation during that winter that helped many avoid spending nights outside.
Hands Across America was a highly publicized event on May 25, 1986, where some 6 million people held hands in a chain across the United States. Most in line donated $10 for their spot. The aim was to channel funds to local charities. While some criticized the event as a publicity stunt with high administrative costs, the fact is that Hands Across America raised public consciousness to the issues of homelessness, hunger, and other issues relating to poverty. My two young children and I, holding hands in the chain in front of the Lincoln Memorial, felt that event to be very powerful and inspiring. I heard the same feelings voiced by many. There were more than enough people at that spot, and the line doubled around and, in some spots, tripled around. In some areas out west, the line didn’t always connect, but estimates said that if the number of people had been evenly spread, the chain could have crossed the nation unbroken.
The legacy of Hands Across America in my area of the nation was foundational. The money made available for the revolving church shelters in concert with the continued dedication of those and other churches, nonprofit groups, individuals, and the county government would eventually give rise to the creation of permanent shelters. At first, the revolving churches shelter gave way to a renovated old motel with a freestanding kitchen. That building was torn down, and a new state-of-the-art shelter was constructed with private rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities, and counseling and employment services. Another new shelter was constructed at the other end of the county.
Today, there are two additional facilities to support the homeless. One is a drop-in center open several hours per day where showers, meals, counseling, clothes, and other essentials are available. The other is an overnight shelter which expanded from just winter use to now providing year-round overnight shelter. The major nonprofit organization (ACTS) supporting the original church shelter scheme has now grown in size and offers a considerable number of programs to support those in need of housing, food, and refuge from abusive domestic situations.
Hands Across America did have its detractors who claimed it wasn’t well-organized, that it raised nowhere near the money it sought, and that in a number of other ways, it fell short of its goal. An article in the Los Angeles Times 33 years ago today quoted Marty Rogol, one of the organizers: “confusion was inevitable.” He “warned reporters not to ‘nit-pick’” and said further: “we created an event that is unheralded in human history. There is no way everybody will do everything right the first time. We controlled the event as well as any event could be controlled.”
I know I shared with many people on the day of the event, a feeling that together we could help change things for the better. I was moved that so many parents there had the opportunity to join with their children in this celebration of the opportunity to do positive things.
Maybe it’s time to again join hands across America. We can learn from earlier lessons. I don’t know what effect today’s technology, unavailable back then, would have on such an event, but I think the internet would help forge solid connections. Suppose we took a day and instead of sniping at opponents real and imagined, we sought their hand in a demonstration of how great our nation can be in a sea of harmonious engagement. Efforts to bring our nation together should not be seen as publicity stunts. I’m sure there were people I saw in line that day that didn’t embrace completely policies I thought fundamental to positive change. But maybe there was enough commonality to begin to build on. That’s the way to frame a conversation, instead of shutting it down before it starts.
Hands Across America helped accelerate the shelter programs reaching out to the homeless in my area. Maybe a second event, involving a new generation, can reach hands and hearts across America.
Rich Garon is a novelist and the former chief of staff for the House Committee on International Relations. All proceeds from his latest novel, Lee Fitts, will be donated to the Bill Mehr Drop-In Center for the homeless in his local community outside of Washington, D.C.
