WFHB FireHouse Broadcasting

On Tuesday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 24, Bloomington’s community radio station WFHB will once again unite listeners with people all across the country to raise awareness of the defining social justice issue of our time. WFHB is one of nearly 200 radio stations carrying the National Homelessness Marathon, a 14-hour live broadcast featuring the voices and stories of homeless people from around the U.S. WFHB will air the entire fourteen-hour program, currently in its thirteenth year, starting at 7pm on Tuesday and ending at 9am on Wednesday, when the station returns to its regularly-scheduled programming. New this year is a half-hour live remote broadcast from Bloomington at 2am Wednesday morning, on the topic of family homelessness, featuring local homeless people and social service advocates and moderated by local talk radio luminary Darryl Neher, live from a local homeless shelter. The national broadcast will also include a feature story produced by WFHB News Director Chad Carrothers, airing nationally at 8pm Tuesday. “Playin’ For Change: The Kent Johnson Story” traces the journey of a homeless musician who got back on his feet with the help of the Shalom Community Center, then gave back to Shalom by recording an album to raise money for the cause.

As a lead-in to the National Homelessness Marathon, WFHB will air a new edition of our annual documentary "Streets of Bloomington”, examining the lives of local people struggling with poverty and homelessness. You'll spend a day in the shoes of a local social worker dedicated to helping the homeless and hear true stories of life on the streets. "Streets of Bloomington 2010” airs from 6-7pm on February 23.

While WFHB News regularly produces its own stories and special features on homelessness, being part of a national broadcast is a unique opportunity to bring different communities together. The thirteenth annual Homelessness Marathon will originate from Detroit, Michigan and is expected to reach at least two million listeners on nearly two hundred FM stations across the country and over the Internet.

“As the Marathon has grown, its philosophy has evolved. When I started, I thought I had to scold people and tell them why they ought to care,” confesses the Homelessness Marathon's director, Jeremy Weir Alderson. “But now I know that Americans really do care, and that no matter how grave the failings of our society may be, homeless people aren't on the streets because that's where we, as a people, want them to be. I now mostly look at the Marathon as giving people the reasons for what they already know in their hearts.”

The National Homelessness Marathon will air February 23rd and 24th from 7pm to 9am on Indiana’s original community radio station, WFHB 91.3/98.1/100.7/106.3 FM and live on the web at www.wfhb.org. More information is available by contacting News Director Chad Carrothers at news@wfhb.org or by calling (812) 337-7827. Additional information about the Homelessness Marathon can be found at www.homelessnessmarathon.org.