We are a community, a family. We show up for each other and we genuinely care. In the Skid Row Running Club income, status, social standing and occupation are irrelevant. There is an atmosphere of non-judgment.
Many people in society feel constantly judged, as if they aren't good enough. People in addiction recovery and experiencing homelessness especially feel this way. Marginalized.
Feeling like you are not good enough and not worth of acceptance is very debilitating. It makes it hard for you to become motivated to do anything postive.
In the Skid Row Running Club, lawyers, judges, LAPD Officers, executives, students, recovering addicts and the homeless run side by side. Everyone that is out before the crack of dawn and pushing themselves physically is a person with admirable, redeeming qualities. When that person learns to get up, show up and run again and again, they learn something about themselves. In fact, we all do.
They learn that the are good enough, they learn that they are accepted for who they are and more importantly they learn the grit and resilience necessary to succeed in their lives as a result of running.
Not everyone in recovery or experiencing homelessness is successful the first time, in fact it often takes several attempts. Running is like that as well, but you learn to bounce back. We members who have left our program, have left because of relapse or some other personal problem, they come back. They come back because the know they are welcome and won't be judged.
That's why the Skid Row Running Club works.
