By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

Good Samaritan Services will be hosting its inaugural “Holiday Hustle,” a three-part race series this fall in the Kennett Square area to raise awareness about homelessness in Chester County. 

The “Halloween Howler” will kick off the series on Oct. 26 at Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett Square. Dogs are welcome at the event, and there will be a costume contest for both the dogs and the human runners.

The second race – the “Turkey Trot” – is scheduled for Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 28 and will be held at Unionville High School and Patton Middle School, in partnership with the high school’s softball and baseball teams. The final race will be the “Reindeer Dash,” that will be held on Dec. 14 at Anson B. Nixon Park.

Good Samaritan Services is a Christian faith based non-profit organization serving Lancaster and Chester Counties to help those facing homelessness and poverty. Its newest office is on Birch Street in Kennett Square.

“What we do is we try to catch them before they actually lose their current housing,” said Megan Kooistra, Good Sam’s community development coordinator. “Good Sam has been able to come in and help families fill the financial gap for them to be able to pay rent or mortgage for a short period of time while they get back on their feet and make whatever adjustments they need.”

Kooistra said that there are different levels of homelessness -- whether it be someone living on the street to someone couch surfing and staying with friends – but no matter the situation someone finds themselves in, the agency can provide an individual with support.

Despite Chester County being one of the most affluent counties in the state, homelessness still affects members of the community though the issue is not always recognized.

“Homelessness it is at times overlooked in our area because people do see the wealth,” Kooistra said. “There really seems to be a divide, you might not see so many people experience homelessness on the street, and a lot of that’s because in Kennett Square, specifically, the bigger issue is overcrowding.”

Kooistra echoed a growing sentiment expressed among many in recent years whose economic tendrils are now reality: the increasingly expensive cost of living in Kennett Square has forced multiple families or generations of families to live in single family homes – a situation where there isn’t often enough room to accommodate all the people living there.

“If they weren’t in that situation, the individual families all living in one house, they would not be able to afford a home on their own in the county so that puts them at risk of homelessness and they're obviously in the poverty bracket,” she said.

Good Sam started in Phoenixville in 1999 before eventually expanding to Ephrata, Lancaster, Coatesville and Kennett. While the race series is hosted in the Kennett area, the “Holiday Hustle” races will raise funds for all of Good Sam’s efforts across its five locations.

“We’re excited for the race, and I’m excited for it to be local,” Kooistra said. “This will really be one of our first events down here in Kennett Square that will bring attention to the newest Good Sam house.”

Runners interested in the race series can sign up for the Hustle Challenge and compete in any of the 3K, 5K or one-mile races and an exclusive medal after the final race. The first race is the

Kooistra’s inspiration behind the events came from her own running background.

“I am a runner and always enjoy the camaraderie of running,” she said. “Many 5Ks are always to support someone so it just seemed like happy marriage to bring my a love of running and combine it with my love for Good Sam and see how we can benefit and raise awareness and funds for the mission that Good Sam is doing.”

Registration for the race series is available on their website with individual race costs at $35 for the 5K and $90 for all three 5K races. Registration costs go directly to support Good Sam’s mission and work in the area. Good Samaritan Services is located at 342 Birch Street, Kennett Square, Pa. To learn more about the organization, visit www.goodsamservices.org.