Homelessness takes a toll on the health and longevity of those who experience it. Bob Voland understands this firsthand. The formerly homeless veteran has been living at Piquette Square for three and a half years. Bob wanted a program to help him lead a healthier life, and when “Healthy Piquette” launched in June, he decided to enroll.

“In the beginning, Bob used to come in and be very, very quiet but he never missed a class.” says Randee Spencer, who leads the Healthy Piquette program. “The more we would talk about it, the more he opened up about the things he was doing. He made a drastic change in his lifestyle and now he’s the person I can always refer back to in class and say Bob started here just like you.”

Inspired by the information he learned in class, Bob limited meat in his diet, makes vegetable smoothies and participates in some form of physical activity each day. In three months, he has lost 30 pounds and feels healthier than he has in years.

Healthy Piquette is a partnership between Southwest Solutions and the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Foundation.  The program aims to increase health awareness, access and accountability. The healthy living class meets three days a week in Piquette Square’s multipurpose room.

Randee, who is the founder of Dynasty Fit, offers lessons on topics ranging from understanding food labels to understanding risk factors for chronic illnesses. Each class includes physical activity to help veterans gain strengthen and feel stronger. They also work as a group to prepare healthy meals that they enjoy together and make on their own after class. Recipes often include vegetables grown by the Healthy Piquette Garden Club in the community garden in Masco Veterans Park at Piquette Square.

“It’s exciting because they come because they want to come and they implement what they learn in their life,” says Randee. She also notes that participants now bring water to class or fruit/vegetable smoothies instead of coffee.

Healthy Piquette started as a three-month program but has already been extended to the end of the year with the possibility of continuing into 2017 because health assessments have shown substantial improvement in veteran health. Not only have participants lost weight, they have improved blood pressure and eliminated other health risks.

In recognition of their accomplishments, eight veterans received bikes from American Cycle and Fitness for attending 20 or more classes. Not only do these bikes help participants exercise, they also allow veterans to reduce their dependence on the bus system and increase their ability to access healthy food, services at the VA, and employment opportunities.

Piquette Square is a 150-unit apartment project for homeless veterans located in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood of Detroit. In addition to Healthy Piquette, veterans have access to mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, on-site job training, computer labs, educational programs and other support services to develop healthy and independent living skills.

Editor’s note: This piece originally appeared on Southwest Detroit Solutions, which is an editorial partner of TheHUB.

  Detroit Medical Center, Piquette Square, Southwest Solutions