Salvation Army's free York boxing sessions to help homeless

Would-be boxers are working up a sweat at the row of punchbags down one wall, while up in the ring Liam Malarkey is giving Piotr Bawelkiewicz a training session.

Piotr, 33, who is homeless and lives in a tent in York, is jabbing his long arms out to thud his fists into Liam’s training gloves, while Liam shouts encouragement and times him down.

“Come on! Keep going!” Liam says. “Ten more seconds! Come on! Five… three … well done!”

Liam Malarkey, left, and Piotr Bawelkiewicz at the Salvation Army boxing session (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Piotr lean against the ropes, chest heaving, a big grin on his face.

“I want to learn boxing!” he says, between gasps. “Just for fun, and to get fit, and to make friends.”

After 16 months, the Salvation Army has re-opened its free boxing and fitness sessions in York.

They’ll be here at the York Masters gym every Tuesday morning from 10am to noon, and every Thursday from 1pm until 3pm.

Organiser Charlie Malarkey of the Salvation Army – whose son Liam is doing the training – said the free sessions were open to anyone who was homeless, or battling addiction; or who suffered from mental health issues or was simply lonely.

The Salvation Army's Charlie Malarkey at the reopened boxing and fitness sessions in York (Image: Stephen Lewis)

“We want this to be for everybody,” he said. “We don’t want there to be any barriers. Just come along and do your own thing.

“It’s a great way of building self-esteem, mixing with people... it builds confidence and it builds friends!”

The free boxing and fitness sessions were forced to come to an end in July last year, after the Salvation Army lost part of its Rough Sleepers Initiative government funding.

But now, thanks to support from local organisations such as the local drug and alcohol dependency service, York-based housing support charity Restore, and the Chocolate & Co café in The Groves, the Salvation Army has been able to re-start the sessions.

- WATCH: At the Salvation Army's reopened boxing and fitness session

One person who’s delighted is 21-year-old Jay Benecke.

He started coming to the regular free sessions when he was living homeless in York between the ages of 15 and 17, he says – and kept coming until the sessions were forced to stop last year.

Jay Benecke, left, sparring with Liam Malarkey (Image: Stephen Lewis)

The moment he knew they had started again, he was back – pounding away at the punchbags and sparring with Liam in the ring.

Having been through the hostel system, Jay now has a place of his own and a steady job. But this place is still important to him, he said.

“It’s something positive to do, instead of drinking,” he said. “You can come along, meet people, make friends. It’s great for homeless people, and for keeping kids out of trouble. It’s great for dealing with depression. I will always come here.”Jay Benecke takes a breather after a hard workout (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Hannah Teal of York charity Restore, which provides shared supported accommodation for people who have been through homelessness, said many of her clients were excited that the boxing sessions had reopened.

They were a great way of meeting people, and getting fit, she said – and not just for men, but for women too. Using a punchbag, she said, was a ‘great way of working through your emotions'.

Open to all - the first of the Salvation Army's re-opened boxing and fitness sessions (Image: Stephen Lewis)

At the moment, the sessions are for those aged 18 and over only.

But the hope is that there will soon be special sessions for 13-18 year-olds too.

Liam Malarkey working a punchbag at the Salvation Army's re-opened boxing and fitness sessions (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Charlie Malarkey said that in previous years those who had come along included an 83-year-old woman who had come to lift weights – and a 73-year-old woman who had done some boxing.

“So it’s for all walks of life. Just turn up!” he said.

The Salvation Army’s free ‘fitness for all’ sessions run each Tuesday from 10am-noon and each Thursday from 1pm-3pm at the York Masters Boxing Club gym in Redeness Street.