http://wtxl.tv/Global/story.asp?S=6876625

 

I really don't know what to think of this....f***ed up comes to mind.

Stupid BITCH!

Oh Snap! :o

 

To make matters worse, he has to teach at FSU!

Oh Snap! :o

 

To make matters worse, he has to teach at FSU!

 

Will soccer solve homelessness?

 

 

By AMY REININK

 

Sun staff writer

 

 

 

Anthony Lyons watched as the Gainesville City Commission banned panhandling, and as commissioners discussed placing regulations on the homeless living in "Tent City," a 100-acre stretch of encampments in the woods near S. Main Street.

 

He thought there had to be another way.

 

So Lyons, along with a newly formed task force, is working to solve Gainesville's homeless problem not with regulations, but with soccer.

 

The goal: to organize an all-homeless soccer team in Gainesville modeled after a handful of others nationwide, and after teams from 48 countries that competed this month in the Nike-sponsored Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen.

The teams are built upon the premise that physical activity can help alcoholics and other substance-abusers stay sober, and that the structure of team practices and the accomplishment of working toward a goal can give a life new shape - a concept Lyons said deserves a shot in Gainesville.

 

"It seems like the homeless issue has sort of come to a head in Gainesville and Alachua County, and I just thought the time was right to add a different way of dealing with these issues in addition to some of typical methods tried here and in other cities," said Lyons, manager of the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency.

 

Success stories from homeless soccer programs abound. After the 2005 Homeless World Cup, 77 percent of the players reported making life improvements through employment, housing, education and drug or alcohol treatment programs, according to the organizers. Twelve players went on to become semi-professional or professional soccer players or coaches.

 

Dr. Mark Gold, a distinguished professor and chief of addiction medicine at the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida, said the concept behind the homeless soccer teams is an established part of most rehab centers.

 

"Exercise has been a major part of most of the nation's premiere addiction treatment programs for decades," Gold said. "Exercise alone is not a substitute for a treatment program for substance abuse, but it would be difficult to have a successful program without exercise."

 

Dr. Kenneth Thompson, an associate professor in UF's department of psychiatry, said participation in team sports provides the structure, routine and social networking homeless people need to improve their lives, not to mention an incentive to stay sober.

 

"Most people feel better after they've done exercise because of some temporary benefits to their neurotransmitters," Thompson said. "Team sports may be even more beneficial because of whatever social aspects might be involved. Being on a team keeps people accountable with practices, and it gives them something they look forward to doing every day."

 

Lyons' task force recently met for the first time, and is working to determine where the team will play and how to recruit players.

 

He said he hopes to have the team up and running in time to participate in a national homeless soccer tournament in Washington, D.C., in the spring - a goal he said is attainable.

 

"At the most basic level, street soccer is just a few nets and a ball," Lyons said. "Countries have been playing street soccer like that for years."

 

Lyons recently traveled to Charlotte, N.C., to see how a successful homeless soccer team there is set up.

 

The team operates out of a local soup kitchen, and works with several outside groups, including Davidson College and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Players aren't banned from the team for substance abuse, but they aren't allowed to practice or compete under the influence.

 

The team's success rates mirror those of the Homeless World Cup participants: Of the 23 regular team members last year, 14 have found homes, five have found jobs, three have addressed mental disabilities and two have completed drug treatment programs, according to the team's Web site. This month, several team members and coaches from Charlotte were in Copenhagen representing the United States in the Homeless World Cup.

 

But the team isn't just about changing the lives of the players.

 

By competing in a local adult league, Lyons said, the players changed the lives of others in the community, too.

 

"They lost something like their first 43 games," Lyons said. "Now, they're 12-2. I played against them when I was up there, and they were just phenomenal. I'm pretty competitive, and I'd like to think I'm a pretty good player, but I was blown away by their skills.

 

"Our initial goal would simply be to have a team. But an underlying goal is to mix groups of people who may not usually meet each other. I don't have any dreams of solving all the world's problems through soccer. I just think this is one creative way of working on some of those issues in our community."

 

Homeless soccer! Go get em Gainesville