'Death To Hope': 2 Men Attempt A 250-Mile Run

NORTHRIDGE-CHATSWORTH, CA — Just over 13 miles and one day in, Ken Craft and Rowan Vansleeve were starting to hurt. They've pushed themselves before with the LA Marathon and a 125-mile run, but nothing close to the 250 mile run they started Wednesday.

The two men will spend 16 days running 250 miles from Death Valley to Northridge. Together they run Hope of the Valley, a non-profit that provides support services for people lacking shelter, food and clothing. Just six days into the run, the pair had already put a $260,000-sized dent in their $750,000 goal to help finish the Trebek Center, a 107-bed interim housing project in Northridge.

The Trebek Center will replace the former Skateland roller rink located at 18140 Parthenia Street. Supported by Los Angeles City Council member John Lee and late "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek, the Trebek Center is slated to open in April. It will be part of a "continuum of care" that helps individuals experiencing homelessness transition to permanent housing, Hope of the Valley Founder and CEO Craft said.

The $750,000 fundraising target will help pay off a $2 million bridge loan used to start construction on the center and fill the facility with essential furniture like beds and storage lockers.

“The streets are inhospitable. It is no place for anybody to live," Craft said. He added: "Do I believe that permanent, supportive, affordable housing is ultimately what we need? Yes I do. But, the streets can’t be the waiting room for permanent housing. We’ve got to bring people indoors. We need to then stabilize them and begin to address the underlying issues that led to their homelessness.”

The Death Valley run offers a metaphor for how difficult it can be to find and transition into stable, affordable housing, Craft said. The run will start in the "lowest, hottest, driest, most isolated space" and end at the Trebek Center, a symbol of hope for individuals experiencing homelessness.

"This represents many people that feel like they've hit rock bottom. They're as low as they can go, and they want to go up from there. Maybe it’s through addiction, maybe mental health, maybe just poverty and they've lost their way. So how do we help people get up? It's a daunting task when somebody has to start over again,” Craft said.

The run is also a way for Craft and Hope of the Valley CFO Vansleeve to one-up their similarly ambitious efforts of years past. This time of year is always slow for donations, as many people spent a lot of money during the holidays. Craft and Vansleeve started running the LA Marathon years ago to help inspire donations during this lull.

The LA Marathon was cancelled last year just as Hope of the Valley needed more donations, so the self-proclaimed 'horrible athletes' decided to make their run even more dramatic — 125 miles in 8 days. It nearly killed them, they said.

In December 2021, the pair made an equally extreme move to help kickstart the Trebek Center when they lived on the street for 100 hours.

Through their efforts, Craft and Vansleeve hoped to create empathy and keep homelessness in the front of the city's political mind, they said. The city has been making unprecedented moves toward bring people off the streets, Craft said. But this progress cannot stop when homelessness is no longer the political "it" topic in California.

The 2020 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority homeless count found that there were 66,436 individuals experiencing homelessness in the greater Los Angeles area. This number is thought to be closer to 70,000 because of how the count is done, Craft said.

"We are committed to doing everything we can to keep the spotlight on the humanitarian crisis of homelessness. It’s easy for it to be the flavor of the month … you forget that we live in a city that has approximately 70,000 homeless people," Craft said.

For Vansleeve, categorizing homelessness as a political issue is entirely wrong. Angelenos should be leading with their moral compass and empathy.

"My disappointment is this [has become] a political issue. It's not, it's a moral issue," Vansleeve said.

Craft and Vansleeve are scheduled to finish their run on March 12 at the Trebek Center.

Track Craft and Vansleeve's journey by following @hopeofthevalley, @rvansleve or @kencrafthope on Instagram or checking out Hope of the Valley's website.