By Barbara Woodard, IWAP Charity Committee
When people think of helping the homeless food and shelter come to mind. And no doubt in the hierarchy of life they are essential for mere survival. Yet one of the biggest unmet needs is socks. Homeless people walk constantly they have few opportunities to remove their shoes and socks. Most likely, they will even keep them on when they sleep so they won’t be stolen. They wear old second shoes that are not only the wrong size-they have been shaped by someone else’s foot. This leads to abrasions and further discomfort. Being old and constantly worn, they are often damp, a natural breeding ground for foot fungus.
New socks not only keep the feet warm, but a pair of new socks also offers relief from skin rubbing the shoes and as a barrier to foot infections. The lack of washing facilities and resources usually mean the socks are usually not washed and worn until they disintegrate.
IWAP members have been making sandwiches twice a month for the Naděje Homeless Service Center on Bolzanova for several years. Once a year, we seek donations of socks or cash to buy socks. We purchase black work socks and look for a shop where we can buy them at a cheap price. At the February GM, 20 pairs of socks were donated along with 1700czk. By ordering them from Amazon.de, we were able to purchase 60 pairs for 66 €.
Thanks to two of our faithful sandwich ladies, Sally Whetstone-McSweeny and Emily McGovern-Kuhn, 80 pairs socks were delivered to Naděje Homeless Service Center’s door.
Learn more about participating in IWAPs Homeless work through this link.
