Fitness and Community to Combat Homelessness!

Affordable housing and homelessness

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Individuals experiencing homelessness, or in residential treatment centers and at risk of becoming homeless are undergoing a traumatic experience compounding likely previous trauma; isolation and shame more often than not are associated with homelessness and also with substance use. Back on My Feet seeks to break the cycle of stigma, shame, and isolation by bridging the gaps in our community bringing volunteers together with our members (those residing in shelters and low-income residential treatment facilities) for a shared activity with common goals, teamwork, and community support. We grow stronger as individuals by learning from the experiences of others and taking in diverse perspectives. When our teams gather at 5:30am, they gather as a team, they greet one another as teammates. Breaking down these community barriers, bridging gaps, challenges NIMBY tendencies and humanizes the individuals we serve while creating additional advocates in our community.

This grant would support the continuation of Back on My Feet's work while allowing us to deepen our impact with our existing facility partners and invest resources in building toward future growth and expansion to other areas of Los Angeles County. Back on My Feet's key metric of success is employment obtained by BoMF members. In taking the three pronged approach of healthy movement, community support, and workforce development, we support a goal setting mindset that aims to assist with immediate support while also building toward a more sustainable future. BoMF makes the most of our resources by partnering with local facilities and augmenting their services to support the work they are already doing while bringing our unique and personalized approach to the individuals being served. Partnerships ensures that we are contributing to increased efficiency and success rather than repeating efforts of other community organizations. General operating funding allows for lean but consistent staffing, proper attire to members for physical activity, financial aid direct to members to remove barriers to employment and self-sufficiency, and the maintenance of our large volunteer, member, and alumni community.

No single solution to the challenge of homelessness in our community has proven successful on its own and so many attempts are thwarted by NIMBYism resulting in lawsuits or other actions that prevent or delay services from reaching those who need it most. Back on My Feet creates a collaborative environment for our partners, improves their impact, and offers a bridge to our community - for our members, for the facility partner, and for Back on My Feet. The potential to continue shifting the approach to homelessness and continue involving a greater portion of our community in the solution, in the humanity of the challenge, is enormous and LA County and this funding could help us continue contributing in this way and growing the partnerships that grow our impact.

Back on My Feet's key metric of success is employment obtained by BoMF members. Back on My Feet was launched in Los Angeles County in late 2013 and has since increased our impact in this area has increased by over 80%. While we struggled through COVID challenges like everyone, we bounced back quickly as a result of solid relationships with both our partners and our volunteers. Our efficiency and cost-effectiveness has also improved. If factoring the impact of members employed in a given year into the number of staff required to deliver that impact, our efficiency has increased approximately 179% since our greater Los Angeles launch. We also track new starts (how many members are served in a given year), any certifications or degrees attained, a variety of engagement related metrics, self identified/ self disclosed demographic data, and more to inform the work we do.