HAC’s Shelter Cape Cod Telethon Returns for 12th Year

There are some who think that our world will always have poor people.

If that’s the case, NOAH Shelter director Greg Bar said it begs the question, “What will we do about it?”

HAC’s Shelter Cape Cod Telethon, he said, “is a direct response to that [question],” funding the agency’s shelter program which is aimed at helping the homeless get the services they need to get back onto their feet and into safe, decent housing.

In addition to the NOAH Shelter, beneficiaries of the telethon include HAC’s Carriage House in North Falmouth, The Village at Cataumet in Bourne and Angel House in Hyannis.

Funds raised help provide the homeless a warm bed to sleep in at the NOAH Shelter, engages individuals and families with housing, employment or health specialists and ultimately “helps them pick up the pieces to move ahead in their lives,” Bar said.

Paula Mallard, director of the Village at Cataumet, said the telethon “highlights the needs of the most vulnerable Cape Codders.” And it gives the community a chance to help them at a time of year, the holidays, when it is needed most.

Filmed at the Cape Cod Community Media Center in Dennis, the evening features live and pre-taped musical performances and interviews with HAC staff, volunteers and supporters as well as experts familiar with the region’s housing issues.

Terry Duenas, executive director of the media center, said the telethon, now in its 12th year, “is a great community event that brings together so many diverse folks from our community that are dedicated to the one cause of eliminating homelessness.”

“It helps us all be reawakened to the idea that there is a need all around us and there’s something we can do to help alleviate the need,” Bar added.

This year’s telethon will take place on Wednesday, December 9 from 5-9 pm and can be viewed on local cable access channel 98 or streamed live on the web at www.CapeMedia.org. Learn more about the telethon by clicking this link.