A courtyard gym gave shelter residents better health in one month

A Finnish gym equipment company installed an outdoor fitness unit at a Paris homeless shelter, and one month later, 80% of residents who responded to a survey reported better physical health. Omnigym partnered with Emmaüs Solidarité, a French nonprofit that supports people experiencing homelessness, to pilot the courtyard gym. Residents assessed their own physical health, sleep, mood and energy, and answered a few questions about how the equipment had changed their days. The numbers that stand out are not only about muscles. 90% said the gym helped them talk to or meet other people. Asked what they appreciated most, one user said, "A change in behavior. I smoke less." Another described it as "a change" in their life, "even if only a little." Kirsti Laasio, Omnigym's CEO, calls it The People's Gym. "We want to democratize physical training and make it accessible to everyone," she said.