Running club helps homeless get back on their feet

It’s 5:40 a.m., and under a street lamp on the corner of E and Second streets, a small group begins to form as they do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The streets are nearly empty, save a few aimless individuals resting outside the Federal City Shelter.

A couple of men ramble out of the Clean and Sober Streets section of the shelter five minutes later, clad in sweats and tennis shoes, and join the small band. They greet with hugs – everyone gets a hug, they say – and form a tight huddle in the darkness. They start off the morning with the serenity prayer, reciting in unison the lines about strength and wisdom somewhat instinctively before breaking into warm-up stretches. Soon they begin to jog. Friday’s route goes down E Street to the White House, about three miles in all. It is a break, they say, after a successful five-mile run Wednesday. 

Chapters nationwide: Back On My Feet has five chapters and will add three more by 2011. (Graphic by Briona Arradondo)The group is a part of the nonprofit organization Back On My Feet, which at its core is a running club. But to members, employees and volunteers, the organization is much more. The idea is simple: residents of homeless shelters or halfway houses commit to running three mornings a week with a good attitude. As a result, they gain free access to educational opportunities, job training and a cumulative grant. 

But when asked why they participate, members aren’t likely to mention GED classes or financial literacy courses. Rather, they will probably talk about their new friends and the bonds they’ve formed with other runners.

“The people are great. We keep in contact with each other, we check on each other to see how we’re doing basically every other day,” Ed Jenkins said, grinning ear to ear. “We’re just like a big, great happy family that loves to run.”

Jenkins is a member of the Clean and Sober Streets chapter. After running with the group for seven months, he can attest to the multiple intangible benefits many say Back On My Feet offers. Bonds built between members, volunteers and staff are just one aspect, and it is easy to see. The runs may be serene, and as Jenkins says, they open the day up “like a mediation period,” but they are not quiet. The runners joke with each other, gab about recent races and talk about their lives, all while keeping stride.

The feeling of friendship radiates from the group, and as Autumn Campbell, executive director of the D.C. chapter, said after greeting a lone jogger, they may be the nicest runners, too. Perhaps the most striking moment of Friday’s run resulted from this outward kindness. The group passed a mentally ill homeless man who had been screaming and shaking upon their approach. A few members offered a calm, friendly “good morning,” and the man, almost startled, stopped screaming and returned their greeting.

Many of the benefits of the program, Campbell says, are more difficult to discern, including the organization’s ability to “address and combat a lot of the stereotypes around homelessness.”

Group huddle: Ed Jenkins, Autumn Campbell and Michele Robinson gather for team announcements. (Photo by Briona Arradondo)

“You see a transition in [members] from identifying themselves as homeless or addicts or deadbeats or oftentimes felons, to looking at themselves as teammates and friends and competitors and athletes,” Campbell said. “The ability to change that self-perception, I think, goes a long way toward then allowing someone to make the mental shift that they can in fact move their life forward.”

Campbell said the program combats larger social stigmas surrounding homelessness as well. When they’re running, she says, no one is homeless.

“They’re runners, they’re friends," she said. "You know you go around the circle and it doesn’t matter who has a home or who's rich, poor, black, white. You know, big, little or whatever, everyone is there, they’re all running and that is important.”

The program’s focus on commitment and accomplishing goals helps members with the mental elements of homelessness as well, according to organizers. Campbell, whose mother struggled with alcohol addiction, understands why lessons learned from running lend themselves to the issues around addiction and homelessness. Campbell says she turned to athletics and running to help cope with her mother’s addiction.

“I completely understand why it can serve as a form of therapy and a great basis for embracing life lessons,” Campbell said. “I understand personally why it helps members make the emotional progress necessary to move from experiencing homelessness to being confident and emotionally ready to pursue self-sufficiency.”

Back On My Feet also offers more quantitative benefits, perks that organizers hope will lead to permanent housing and steady jobs.

“The really important work that we do is after one of our resident members has demonstrated a commitment to the program,” Campbell said.

(Graphic by Briona Arradondo)

When a member maintains 90 percent attendance at the 5:30 a.m. runs for 30 days, he or she qualifies to enroll in the Next Step program. Education and training are central to the program, which offers assistance in financial literacy, computer education and specified career training. For those who did not graduate from high school, attaining a GED is another crucial element of Next Step. 

“They have to get their GED in our program,” Campbell said. “Because we know that someone can’t move forward in life without that basic criteria or credential.”

Ed Jenkins has completed the basic computer skills course, a step that he thinks will help him find a job.

“I somewhat was computer illiterate,” Jenkins said about his computer skills before the program. “I knew how to type a basic few words, but knowing e-mail and how to open up a webpage, it was interesting. Now I can basically go up and check my own e-mail now.”

Jenkins eventually qualified for the $1,200 cumulative grant, which is disbursed through third-party spending for approved purchases. Jenkins used part of his grant to purchase a computer that he now uses to check his e-mail, continue training and search for employment. The grant can also be used for court fines that may prevent people from opening bank accounts, or for back child support payments that may inhibit members from getting jobs.

Early Runs: At Clean and Sober Streets homeless shelter Back On My Feet runners meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (Photo by Briona Arradondo)The Washington branch has seen 14 members secure jobs since it launched in March. Forty-five of the members who are residents of shelters have run a race since they began running with Back On My Feet. And the organization is growing. Beginning in Philidelphia in July of 2007, the nonprofit is now located in five cities with 28 teams.

But the nonprofit isn't resting on its laurels. Organizers say they will continue to expand, and have enlisted the help of Temple University to survey their impact on members and volunteers. They will continue, organizers say, helping members advance to a life of better stability, by placing one foot in front of the other.