‘Miles for Montclair’ Supports Homeless Students

MONTCLAIR – One-hundred thirty-six. Eleven years later, it’s a number Montclair High School teachers Amahl Thomas and Fabian Martin have never forgotten.

“We were in staff meeting, and someone mentioned we had 136 homeless students on campus. Fabian and I looked at each other. ‘Did they really say that?’” Thomas says. “We immediately knew we had to do something.”

That something is Miles for Montclair, a 5K walk that has raised more than $200,000 in support of homeless students during the past decade. As it always does, this year’s walk will take place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 21) beginning at 9 a.m. at Montclair High School, 4725 Benito St.

As many as 1,000 students will participate in the 11thannual walk, each raising $25 to support fellow students who live on the street, in a car or temporary shelter. The money is used to assist in a variety of ways, such as food vouchers, academic assistance and scholarships. Today, 265 Montclair High School students qualify as homeless.

“From the beginning, we thought this would be a teachable moment for students,” says Martin. “They helped build it from Ground Zero, they raise the money and they see the end result – how that money is helping fellow students.”

It also has become a major communitywide event. Police officers, volunteers from churches and nonprofit associations and several local businesses help with logistics, food and water. A number of students from the Ontario-Montclair School District will participate, as will community members.

“When people find out we’re doing this for Montclair kids, they respond. They see it’s genuine. That’s why it works and will continue to work,” Martin says.

Not everyone walks the 3.1-mile route, either. There’s Montclair alum Mich Hamlin, whose own journey from troubled upbringing and foster care to USC graduate student and motivational speaker was made possible through the mentoring of a high school track coach. Hamlin has been known to show up at Miles for Montclair in running gear, lapping the field multiple times.

Principal Charlene Saenz and Monica Barberi, Assistant Principal of Achievement, say the Miles for Montclair program is part of a broader commitment at the school to destigmatize homelessness.

“It’s all about tearing down walls and working with the kids,” Barberi says. “Our staff is amazing at knowing our students. Our kids, too, might notice that a friend is struggling. We’re all looking out for each other.”