Climbing may rank pretty low on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but we’ve found that it can play an integral role in helping people rebuild after their lives have been shattered.
Bay Area Rescue Mission is an organization dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness, addiction, or folks who are otherwise down and out get back on their feet. They provide both material services (shelters, job placement, etc.) and relational services—experiential work such as building self-confidence, repairing relationships, experiencing vulnerability, and other forms of coaching and therapy to help the people they serve find resilience and balance in their renewed lives. And, as it turns out, climbing is a great relational service.
Touchstone member Brian White has been bringing in a group of men from Bay Area Rescue Mission to Great Western Power Co. since 2018 to create space for healing and just plain fun.
“So much of these guys’ experience is focused on recovery, it’s important that they have a chance to just feel normal,” Brian says. “Climbing builds confidence and camaraderie, and helps people relate to their bodies in healthy ways.”
Check out the video of our Neighborhood Collab with Bay Area Rescue Mission at Great Western Power Co. here:
