Robert Brown had tried everything for his pain — acupuncture, massage, chiropractors.
A 59-year-old Army veteran who spent decades living on the street, Brown has a crushed disk in his spine and nerve damage to his thigh. What finally helped him feel better wasn’t medication or traditional physical therapy.
It was a weekly 20-mile bike ride with other homeless and formerly homeless San Diegans.
“I’m telling all my providers at La Jolla hospital I’m feeling better than I felt in a decade,” he said, “and they all say it’s the bike.”
Brown rides nearly every Thursday morning with a cycling program started by homeless services provider Father Joe’s Villages. It’s part of a handful of programs run by a variety of different organizations, all aimed at getting unhoused Californians — who are statistically more likely to have health problems — to exercise with a community.
The Skid Row Running Club in Los Angeles organizes regular early-morning runs for people at risk of homelessness and addiction. Back on My Feet organizes runs for unhoused people across the country, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco. And Street Soccer USA offers soccer programs to people who are homeless, in recovery or living at or below the poverty line in cities including Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.
Deacon John Roberts leads the San Diego bike rides, and said while biking on its own doesn’t get people into housing, it’s the best way he’s found to help people feel better physically and mentally as they navigate the arduous road out of homelessness.
“Bike riding, it gives people … physical, mental, spiritual, all of that well-being,” he said. “And it’s social.”
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