Community invited to ‘Walk in the Cold’ and help Idaho Falls homeless population

IDAHO FALLS – The Idaho Falls Rescue Mission is gearing up for its fourth annual Walk in the Cold fundraiser.

It’s a 5K held during the winter to give participants a taste of what the city’s homeless population experiences on a daily basis. It will be held Saturday, March 15 at The Waterfront at Snake River Landing. All the proceeds will help keep the lights on at the rescue mission’s shelters.

“We try to make it a family event,” IFRM community resource manager Amanda Mora tells EastIdahoNews.com. “People can walk or run the 5K. A lot of people are like, ‘I don’t want to walk in the cold,’ but there are people out there every day in this weather who have nowhere else to go. That’s the point.”

The event has grown exponentially each year. About 250 people participated in 2024, according to Mora, and they’re hoping for 400 this year.

Six different prizes are available, including fastest man, fastest woman, largest team, best team name and others.

Lunch is included for those who register and vendors can sign up as well.

“This is the first time we’ve grown out of booth space,” says Mora. “We are trying to make room as we get more sponsors.”

The event was held for the first time in 2019. It was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been held annually since 2021.

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It was born out of a desire to raise awareness of the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission and its efforts to help the city’s growing homeless population.

“In our day to day lives, we don’t realize how tough it is out there (for many people). The rescue mission is here to give people a place to go that’s safe and gain sustainability,” Mora says. “You’re out there on the 5K path for 30 minutes to an hour, but (homeless) people are out there for 24 hours a day. Some of them have died.”

The Idaho Falls Rescue Mission has three shelters in town. In 2024, Mora says those shelters helped just under 600 people.

There are many reasons why people are homeless, but some of the most common, according to Mora, are economic hardships or family issues.

“Some people just don’t have the money to pay the rent or purchase food for their families,” says Mora. “That’s probably the No. 1 reason.”

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She says a lot of men end up at the shelter due to a divorce.

Often, Mora says people are just one crisis away from losing everything.

The growing number of homeless people, combined with inadequate space, often makes it challenging to take people in.

“Our Ruth House off Yellowstone Highway — a group of apartments next to Maverik — used to be our center building. We had to shut it down for safety reasons. Also, the amount we were paying for rent just became too much,” she says.

It recently relocated to The Haven at 2480 South Yellowstone Highway, which Mora says is now “bursting at the seams.”

“It’s a struggle to house people. We’re constantly turning people away because we’re full,” Mora says.

She’s hoping to acquire additional space in the future.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit is working to help as many people as they can and donations from the community are what make that possible.

Mora is encouraging people to support Walk in the Cold. People can sign up to sponsor, volunteer or participate.

“Right now, we’re really pushing for participants. It’s going to be a big event and we’re encouraging people to come out and at least see what it’s about,” says Mora.

The event will get underway at 11 a.m. To sign up or get details about prices, along with a map of the route, visit the website.