Black, center, stretches with teammate Alfred "Al" DeGroat and coach Abby Pennington before a game in San Francisco on Sept. 24. Street Soccer USA serves "emerging adults" or "transitional-aged youth," ages 18 to 30, focusing on those who are homeless. Photo by Preston Gannaway
Soccer on the Street
San Francisco is home to Silicon Valley, the Golden Gate Bridge and obscene rental costs. It’s also where more than 7,500 people without homes seek shelter and survival.
“In San Francisco, homelessness is a ubiquitous problem,” says Benjamin Anderson, program director of Street Soccer USA, which tries to address homelessness through athletics.
The program builds sports teams that reach the least-served communities in 16 U.S. cities and seeks to engage low-income youth and young adults who are homeless by using sports as a way to empower them to lead independent lives.
Preston Gannaway is a Pulitzer Prize-winning independent documentary photographer and filmmaker.
Read the full story on ESPN.
