Running the Boston Marathon for BHCHP (pt.3)
In this final post introducing this year’s Team BHCHP, you’ll get to meet Shauna, Madeleine and Sherry, all first time runners taking on the world’s historic Boston Marathon this April 21. We send our best wishes to our entire team of 13 individuals as they check off a bucket list item while raising greater awareness of our program and critically needed funds to sustain our lifesaving work. To contribute to our runners’ appeal, please click here.
We’re truly grateful to the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program for enabling us to take part in this community driven celebration. We can’t wait for Marathon Monday – cheers!
Shauna Haley, 1st Boston Marathon
I started running as a child, inspired by my mom who was a dedicated runner. I remember being on vacation and wanting to join her on her runs, and the thrill of watching her at races left a lasting impression on me. Those early experiences sparked my love for running and made it something I’ve carried with me ever since.
When I learned about Team BHCHP and the incredible work they do to provide healthcare to people experiencing homelessness, I felt an immediate connection. Access to healthcare is something I’ve always believed should be a basic human right, and the idea of combining that cause with a lifelong goal like running the Boston Marathon just felt meaningful. I didn’t just want to run—I wanted to run for something, and Team BHCHP gave me that purpose.
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One of the most surprising things I’ve learned is just how comprehensive BHCHP’s work really is. I had no idea that healthcare for people experiencing homelessness could extend so far beyond emergency services—it includes mental health care, substance use support, street outreach, and even end-of-life care. It opened my eyes to how complex and human-centered this work truly is. Homelessness isn’t just a housing issue—it’s a health issue too, and BHCHP meets people with compassion exactly where they are.
It’s important to me to support people experiencing homelessness because it’s incredibly hard to get back on your feet when so much is working against you. There are countless barriers—financial, emotional, systemic—that make it feel nearly impossible, and instead of being met with support, people are often met with judgment. The truth is, we rarely know someone’s story or what led them to that point. But regardless of how or why someone became homeless, they still deserve dignity, compassion, and access to basic human rights—especially healthcare. Everyone deserves the chance to be cared for.
Madeleine Kline, 1st Boston Marathon
I started running in middle school, on my own, as a way of spending time outdoors and getting my exercise in. I also quickly discovered that I could listen to audiobook while I ran, and to this day running remains one of the ways that I do most of my recreational reading. It is, in fact, the way that I read “Rough Sleepers”.
Ever year, Jim O’Connell, the founding physician of BHCHP, gives a talk to the first-year medical students at Harvard Medical School, and I remember the talk he gave my class, which was via Zoom in 2020. It was hard not to be drawn in by his message, and by his rapport with the patient he had invited to present to the class alongside him. Since then, reading “Rough Sleepers” re-ignited my respect for Jim and for the organization which radically disseminates the message that healthcare is a human right.
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I decided to volunteer at BHCHP through the medical student run foot clinic at the McInnis house, modeled after Jim O’Connell’s experience that washing patients’ feet was an incredibly intimate and meaningful way to understand a person’s circumstances. Although I am deep in my PhD in public health, getting to know some of the patients at the McInnis House revitalized my desire to help patients at the individual as well as population level and reminded me why I do why I do.
Over my many encounters, some people discussed the circumstances that had landed them in McInnis and some did not. But when they did, people overwhelmingly expressed gratitude and hope for the future. I was struck by the openness with which people shared their stories and their plans for the future, and it was this resilience and gratitude that made me want to continue to return. I believe that supporting BHCHP’s mission is a fantastic way to support the community I live and work in, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to spread the word about their good work .
Sherry Yang, 1st Boston Marathon
I started running to practice being bad at something – and to be comfortable with being bad. No pace targets or distance goals. Just audiobooks, beautiful bodies of water, and maybe a decent bit of hypoxia. Turns out, running is actually quite fun?? In the busyness of adulthood, running has become my escape, my grounding force, and a constant source of joy.
For the past five years, I have volunteered and co-directed the foot clinic at the Barbara McInnis House. During this time, I’ve had the privilege of learning my neighbors’ stories. I cared for feet that walked miles in the Boston snow to find food for their family, feet that crossed borders in search of a better life, and feet that, in better days, swing-danced in cities across the US. Each one was on a journey, full of hills and valleys. And sometimes we all need a little help to keep on walking. This year, I am taking an extra step. In April, I am running the Boston Marathon to raise money for BHCHP and their mission of providing people the healthcare they need to get back on their feet.
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When I think about systems of hope, I look to BHCHP as an example. During my time in Boston, I’ve seen BHCHP not only endure, but also lead initiatives to address challenges like the COVID pandemic and Boston’s Family Homelessness crisis. Throughout these seasons of change, every person I’ve met has been so compassionate, generous, brilliant, and kind. BHCHP’s leaders, caretakers, and patients have taught me the power of listening and the boundless range of resiliency.
All humans deserve care. Life is hard. Things that make life easier – access to fresh foods, public transportation, green spaces, healthcare facilities, schools, clean air – are often unequally distributed across neighborhoods. Sometimes, because of these intersecting challenges, people experience homelessness. By building awareness, we can begin to ensure that all communities have the opportunity to live healthy, vibrant lives.
