A physical activity study increases mental health of women experiencing homelessness

• Aniya Faulcon
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

 Keira McGuire / Transforming Health

FILE PHOTO: Hilda Sierra-Marrero is living homeless in Lancaster. She has been diagnosed with multiple mental health disorders and finds it easier to live in her own “bubble.”

Airdate: August 19, 2022

When thinking about homeless women most don’t think about their physical health but a new exploratory study, by a Harrisburg University professor, delves into that and finds that increased physical activity caused a significant decrease in the number of mentally unhealthy days that the homeless participants experienced after the intervention.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, being active releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good – boosting your self-esteem and helping you concentrate as well as sleep well and feel better.

Tonya Miller, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at Harrisburg University, who conducted the study, worked with Harrisburg University students and local shelters to educate homeless women on their physical activity and in turn, shift their mindset to achieve an overall sense of well-being.

“Working with individuals to improve their mental health and their physical health, I think plays a part in having the motivation to look and then find that next step and to be to be able to focus on your life goals,” Miller said.

The ongoing study, so far, has twenty seven women who’ve participated and completed the program. The women that have participated are 18 and older.

The testing for the the study is called Healthy Days, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which shows how many healthy days one has had in the last month. As a part of the study, participants take surveys, do two minute walk tests, and other physical activities.

Miller said she she could tell that the women who participated were excited, empowered, and in a better mood because of the study.

She also said, she would expand this study to include men to elongate her reach of impact.

“I hope that they (the study’s participants) gain empowerment, that they understand that they’re already doing great things in their lives and that they can have control over what’s happening in their lives and how that can build to other things,” Miller said.

For more information about this program email tmiller2@harrisburgu.edu or call 717-901-7969 ext. 1630.