Jamaica Plain Women Are Hiking To Help

It’s people like Jamaica Plain’s Rikki Provda that makes Sherri Schwaninger return year after year to hike in the Wilderness Heals event each summer in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Schwaninger, 56, also of Jamaica Plain, said she looks forward to getting to know women of all ages who participate in the fundraiser that benefits the Elizabeth Stone House, an organization that helps homeless and at-risk survivors of domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and other forms of trauma achieve greater safety and stability.

Provda would certainly fit into that category. At 26, this is her first Wilderness Heals hike. However, like Schwaninger, she has already started to create relationships with hikers thanks to a training hike required of all participants and a barbecue that was put on the by the Stone House.

“I’ve met about a third of the women on the training hike and they are wonderful, wonderful women,” Provda said. “It’s funny, when you get out on the trail, you start opening your mouth and things come out. We have talked about our wishes for the future, parenting, if we want to have kids. I have never gotten so close to people right off the bat.”

This will mark the fifth time that Schwaninger will hike in the Wilderness Heals event (July 15-17). A love for hiking propelled her to undertake the three-day trek, but since that maiden voyage she has grown to appreciate the mission of the Roxbury-based non-profit.

“My dad left my mom and we essentially had no money,” she said. “The programs the Stone House provides to women are vital to helping them get back on their feet and they mean a lot to me personally.”

Provda also said the work she does as a treatment coordinator in the court system helps her relate to the good work done at the Stone House.

“At the heart of me, I love volunteering and helping people in need,” she said.

The hike will also provide Provda with a respite from the stress that her job entails.

“The commitment, the hike, the fundraising involved, the meetings, these are times I can have to myself and it supports other people and benefits me in every way possible,” Provda said.

Provda added the services offered at the Stone House resonate with her personally since her mother has struggled with domestic violence.

Each of the 51 women who have registered to hike is required to raise a minimum of $1,500 to participate in Wilderness Heals. Last year, the hike raised more than $200,000.

For more information on Wilderness Heals or to make a donation, visit http://wildernessheals.elizabethstone.org/about.asp