Running in the Face of Traditional Solutions

by Becky Blanton · 2010-10-16 08:00:00 UTC
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"Getting back on your feet" usually means finding a new job, maybe a place to live and whatever else it takes to become independent and self-sufficient once again. But for Anne Mahlum, it means more than changes in circumstances.

If Mahlum's name sounds familiar, maybe it's because you saw her on the national news a couple years ago, recruiting homeless men to join a running club in Philadelphia. Mahlum, a serious runner, says she passed by a homeless shelter every morning on her daily run and began to develop a rapport with the men outside on the corner. One morning she had an idea: "Back On My Feet" running clubs for homeless individuals.

When her initial Philadelphia group ran its first race, the media took notice. So did coaches around America.

Dan Blankenship, a track coach in Richmond, Virginia, and some volunteers coached 20 homeless men and women to their first 10K in March 2010. Blankenship, like many others, credits Mahlum with the inspiration.

Just two years after Mahlum got started, there are Back On My Feet chapters operating in four more cities: Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Boston and Chicago. There are plans to expand to Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Minneapolis in 2011.

On the BOMF site Mahlum explains why running and the homeless make such a great combination: "Running is such a beautiful metaphor for life. Life is about choosing different roads and our program teaches the importance of choosing roads filled with opportunity, hope and happiness."

More than just a club and a website, Back On My Feet is a non-profit organization that truly runs in the face of traditional solutions for dealing with the homeless. BOMF  "promotes the self-sufficiency of homeless populations by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem." What I like about the BOMF program is that Mahlum goes against the victim-model in which an organization sees homeless individuals as people to be rescued, fed and housed with no effort on their part other than showing up and filling out the paperwork.

She and BOMF require something out of the participants as well. Not everyone is eligible. Shelter staff and BOMF leaders must determine whether the participant and the program are a fit since they invest $1,800 in each runner. Participants must sign an agreement and commit to the program. It's tough. And it works. Running is more than just exercise — it's discipline, life skills, goal-setting, teamwork and self-respect. What comes out of the commitment and completion of the program are the skills and the connections that the participants will use to "get back on their feet."

Mahlum is providing what many advocates believe will make the biggest difference in the lives of the homeless — and it's not food or shelter since the organization doesn't provide either. BOMF provides something better — community. But members have to earn the benefits over the six to nine-month program. By maintaining a 90 percent attendance rate at the three weekly runs, members advance in the program.

It's not for everyone. Not every program is. While I have no doubt that Mahlum and "Back On My Feet" will occasionally be criticized for requiring participants to obey rules and work their program, I also have no doubt that the self-discipline, pride and respect participants will develop by completing the program will change them for the better.

Photo credits: Steve Conger, Back On My Feet

Becky Blanton has 22 years of experience as a journalist and photojournalist. She spoke at TEDGlobal 2009 in Oxford, England about being one of the "working homeless."
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