Homeless get new shoes, free foot care
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A man leaves the Committee on Temporary Shelter Daystation with a new pair of shoes in Burlington Wednesday. Homeless men are getting new shoes and basic foot care from doctors as part of a national day-before-Thanksgiving outreach program being executed in 40 states. AP PHOTO |
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By JOHN CURRAN The Associated Press - Published: November 26, 2009
BURLINGTON — Hard on the body, hard on the mind, being homeless is also hard on the feet — especially during Vermont winters.
So there was no shortage of eager takers Wednesday as a national "Our Hearts to Your Soles" program hit a Burlington homeless shelter, offering new shoes, fresh socks and the promise of a foot exam to a few dozen homeless or "in transition" people.
By day's end, 63 people walked out of the Committee on Temporary Shelter's day station in new shoes that fit.
Begun four years ago in Pittsburgh, Our Hearts to Your Soles uses shoes donated by Red Wing Shoe Co. and volunteer labor and has spread to dozens of states.
The one held Wednesday was one of similar events planned in 40 states. It marks the second year the shelter helped the homeless with shoes.
"The homeless are walking around all the time, and they never have shoes that fit," said Dr. Jim Michelson, a foot-and-ankle specialist at Fletcher Allen Health Care hospital. "In particular, in places like Vermont, their feet are at risk. I've seen several folks here who've had frostbite in the past."
Michelson, fellow orthopedic Dr. Jesse Hahn and three medical assistants from the hospital gave foot exams to in one room before shuttling their "patients" to an adjoining room, where 100 boxes of sneakers, hiking boots and slip-on shoes were stacked against a wall, sorted by size.
There, volunteers — including a foot specialist and a shoe store general manager — measured each person's feet and then offered each man or woman their choice of shoe.
"Your feet are your form of transportation," said Rita Markley, executive director of the shelter. "If you have limited resources and access to health care, your feet get really worn. You can have fallen arches and all kinds of problems that affect your posture and your health, but you can't afford the $90 pair of shoes with the orthopedic inserts. So every step you take in what is already an impossibly difficult journey is all the more difficult," she said.
On Wednesday, the men shuffled in wearing shoes and clothing in various conditions.
Paul, a 56-year-old man, sat down for his exam with Michelson.
"Wanna' look at my foot?" he said.
"Both of 'em," said Michelson.
Then, the man pulled off his black sneakers and his socks and Michelson lifted them up, separating the toes, then looking at the soles.
"Any problems?" he asked.
"I get callouses and I get corns, I have to cut them out," Paul told him.
"You do that yourself?" said Michelson.
"Yeah. Hurts like hell," Paul said.
After offering some advice on how to deal with them, Michelson handed him a new pair of socks and sent him to the other room, where he was fitted.
Jeff, a 31-year-old man who'd been homeless for four months, got the same treatment from Hahn. He had no issues, but still got the new socks and then a pair of black slip-ons for his size 11 feet.
"I need shoes, and obviously I can't buy some $80 pair of shoes," he said on his way out. "This is definitely a good idea."
The people getting new shoes weren't the only ones who got something out of it.
"This is a great experience," said Chris Ouellette, general manager of Sportshoe Center, of South Burlington, who was doing the fittings. "It's humbling."
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