It seems unlikely that David Gale and Richie Robb would have much in common.

Gale, 43, once lived on the streets after substance abuse shot him into a downward spiral. Now sober, he's scratching to get by.

Robb, 59, has been mayor of South Charleston for more than 30 years. He's a respected political leader who has even been in the national spotlight and is usually dressed in a spiffy suit.

However, these two men of different backgrounds unearthed several parallels between them.

Both live in the same South Charleston neighborhood, although they hadn't met until Monday. They also share ties to Cleveland, a past of military service and a love for the game of basketball.

They're even going to take it to the courts of Joplin Park.

"I used to have game until I messed up my knee," said Robb, who then had a little fun and talked some trash. "But he's 43. It's not like he's the next Michael Jordan, either."

The two may never have met without the Walk-A-Mile program, which is pairing elected officials with low-income folks to "walk a mile in each other's shoes" for 30 days.

As part of the program, Robb has pledged to live on a $278 food stamp budget to feed him and his wife over the next month. He also plans to spend a day with Gale at his place of employment, the Covenant House, a nonprofit social service agency on Shrewsbury Street.

Gale works there answering phones and performing other clerical duties, and has also relied on the Covenant House for services.

To experience a slice of Robb's life, Gale will attend Thursday's South Charleston Council meeting. Gale, who doesn't have a vehicle, will get a ride from the mayor.

"What do you hope to learn from me?" Robb asked Gale at the Walk-A-Mile WV kickoff event Monday. "I hope not much."

"I want to learn how to deal with people and make decisions," Gale responded.

So far, Gale has learned a lot on his own in his life.

Gale grew up in Cleveland and his mother, a Beckley native, would send him to Charleston for the summer to keep him out of trouble.

After graduating from East Technical High School in Cleveland, Gale signed up for the U.S. Navy. He spent six years in the service, two of them as a reservist, and even saw duty in Beirut, Lebanon, after the 1983 terrorist attack.

Gale said he started "drifting" near the end of his tenure in the Navy. His mother died during that time, and Gale was permitted to attend her funeral. But he had to report back to duty a day after her funeral.

"That's when my troubles started," said Gale, who worked on aircraft in the military. "I was drifting around and got into drugs and alcohol and before you know it, you're homeless."

Gale settled in the Charleston area, got help and is now on a roll.

He's lived in an apartment for two years and is also in his second year studying social work at West Virginia State University. All the while, he works a few hours a day at the Covenant House.

"It hasn't been easy," Gale said. "You have to learn how to pay bills. When you're homeless, you don't worry about that. But I try to pay my bills so I'm not homeless again."

Gale found out about the Walk-A-Mile program through Annie Pasel, a Covenant House coordinator.

"I thought about David because he's come a long way," she said. "He's articulate and intelligent."

Gale said he's studying social work so he can be like Pasel and help others, like himself, who have faced adversity.

He begins most days by eating breakfast and hopping on a bus to his morning classes at West Virginia State. Sometimes it takes him more than an hour to get there from his South Charleston apartment.

He's pulling off Bs and Cs in his classes, which include English, Spanish, math and origins, which relates to creation and evolutionary science.

Robb says he knows what it's like trying to juggle college and a slew of other activities.

During their first meeting, Robb cracked jokes and patted Gale on the back to break the barrier.

Robb has a Cleveland connection, as his wife is from there. Robb saw military service for two years in the U.S. Army. He earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam.

"We both like to play basketball and live in the Montrose Drive area," Robb said. "I'm going to pick him up and go play ball at Joplin Park one of these days.

"I hope to better appreciate from these experiences what his life is like."

The purpose of the Walk-A-Mile initiative is to bridge a gap between policymakers and low-income people. The program, coordinated by the Kanawha Valley Collective, runs from today to Dec. 15 and the pairs are expected to engage in several activities together.

Gale wants to learn from Robb. He also wants to continue on his path to peace and success.

"People here have helped me out a lot," Gale said. "I'm going to school and working. I've been blessed with an apartment. I need to keep on striving. If I stop, I think I'm going to lose it all."