Good Works hopes to receive almost a quarter of the operating costs for an Athens homeless shelter during the sixth annual Walk for the Homeless tomorrow.

The Timothy House, an emergency shelter that provides temporary housing and assistance for area homeless people, needs private donations to cover the cost of food, utilities and staff salaries. Keith Wasserman, executive director and founder of Good Works, said he hopes to raise $40,000 for the shelter, about $2,000 more than last year’s Walk for the Homeless.

Registration for the walk begins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at the First United Methodist Church on College Street. The walk begins at 9 a.m. and will be followed by a rice and beans lunch around 11:45 a.m.

The Walk for the Homeless will have two different routes: a three-mile educational Myth Walk featuring a discussion of the myths and realities of homelessness at the New Life Assembly of God on South Green Drive and a 2.2-mile Kids Walk to show children what it’s like to be homeless.

People unable to participate in the full walk can sign up for the Mini Walk from the registration site to the First Presbyterian Church, where Good Works volunteers will show a video and discuss homelessness.

“We think homelessness has become out of sight out of mind for most students. The walk is intended to remind students that homeless people live in Athens,” Wasserman said.

Good Works is an Athens-based assistance program for people living in poverty in Appalachian Ohio. It provides meals, housing, job training opportunities and other programs for people in the area.

“These people are good people. They’re working hard,” Wasserman said of the people who receive support.

Poverty in Athens County was more than two times higher than the average state poverty level in 2005, according to a Jan. 9 report from the U.S. Census Bureau. About 31 percent of people in Athens County lived in poverty in 2005, compared to 13 percent of people statewide.

The report focused on families in Athens County and is more accurate than previous reports that included Ohio University’s student population, said Tracy Galway, community relations coordinator for the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services. People have been losing jobs locally and have needed more assistance in recent years, Galway said.

Area food banks are having difficulty keeping up with the higher demand, said Dick Stevens, division director of the Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action, a non-profit organization that helps people living in poverty in the three counties. The increased costs for fuel, utilities and food are making it difficult for families to make ends meet.

“Food banks across the nation are suffering probably the worst supply shortage in the history of food banking,” Stevens said.

The Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action runs 17 food distribution centers such as soup kitchens and food pantries in Athens County, he said. Athens County has a total of 14 food pantries where residents can pick up canned and boxed goods, Galway said. The Timothy House does not receive food or other goods from food banks, Wasserman said.

About 18 percent of Athens County residents, or 11,000 people, received food stamps from July 2006 to June 2007, Galway said. The number of people using food stamps has not changed significantly in the past few years, she said. Residents must be below 130 percent of the federal poverty guideline and meet other requirements determined by the Department of Job and Family Services to qualify for food stamps.