Detroit's Homeless Get a Gym

DETROIT, Jan., 21, 2010— -- Detroit's homeless now have a place to exercise and help the environment.

It's the first of its kind, says Cass Community Social Services -- a green gym where homeless men, women and children can work out. The gym claims the title of green because it is outfitted with stationary exercise bikes generating electricity that is redirected into the building's power grid.

The gym, located in an old warehouse on a rundown block on Detroit's west side, opened Wednesday. The idea was the dream of Cass' executive director, the Rev. Faith Fowler.

"It's called the Green Gym, but it's not a Bally's," Fowler . "People who need to move into shelters are not getting activity necessarily, so this is a chance for them to get into better shape."

Fowler wants everyone to do his or her part for the environment, even the homeless. "They are not going to buy a hybrid [car]. … Most of the big fixes are beyond their reach, but everyone can do cycling," she says.

An exercise class in the green gym has the potential to produce up to 1.8 megawatts of renewable energy, Cass estimates. And they say that much energy is the equivalent needed to light 36 homes for a month.

The gym also has weight machines, boxing bags and a treadmill.

Cass is one of a number of organizations focused on fighting poverty in Detroit, a city in crisis. Community groups estimate that Detroit has about 18,000 homeless people.

Destitution and despair are not new to Detroit. The city's has had a job shortage for many years, but unemployment reached an all-time high last year when it hit 29 percent. Some say that number doesn't even tell the real story of the city's job's crisis, when counting people who've given up looking for work or gone back to school, the unemployment rate in Detroit climbs to an astonishing 50 percent.

Detroit has about 40 organizations and projects to fight homelessness, and the city allocates $3.5 million through an emergency shelter grant.