Group calls for waterproof shoe donations for Vancouver’s unhoused

A charity organization in Vancouver has put out a call, asking for donations of waterproof shoes and boots for those experiencing homelessness in the city.

Three Links Foundation, which operates a volunteer-run, Sunday morning breakfast program for the unhoused out of the Odd Fellows Hall in Fairview, says it has seen an increase in demand for waterproof footwear amid the recent rainy weather.

“What really prompted it, is every week, I think the biggest complaint we get is for footwear. A lot of their shoes wear out, and the only place they get shoes is finding them in back lanes and what not. They’re often poorly fitted, they’re old, they’re not waterproof,” said Walter Wells, president of Three Links Foundation.

Three Links also operates a warming centre out of the Odd Fellows Hall in partnership with the City of Vancouver on nights when temperatures get down to -4 degrees or colder.

Wells says while Vancouver does not get as cold in the fall and winter months as some cities out east do, there are still a lot of health risks that are associated with poor quality footwear.

“What we learned from Vancouver Coastal Health when we opened the warming centre a few years ago, is that if you go out east, they literally find homeless people frozen to death in the morning,” Wells said.

“In Vancouver, that doesn’t happen but it can be just as deadly. What happens is if your feet get wet because you have poor shoes or your socks get wet and you don’t have other socks to replace, it can weaken you, you get respiratory illness, and they end up in emergency at VGH, and they die of that in hospital and it isn’t recorded as a homeless death.”

Wells says Three Links received a $50,000 homelessness community action grant earlier this year, which allowed the organization to start its weekly breakfast program in July.

“Down in the Downtown Eastside there are lots of homeless people and also lots of services, but the granters recognized that over in the Fairview neighbourhood, the whole westside really, there is virtually no services for these people,” Wells remarked.

When the breakfast program started, Wells says three people came by the first week. He adds word has spread since, with the breakfast seeing 54 visitors last week.

He says while Three Links does have a limited budget and has received donations and supports from several other community organizations, donations of boots and shoes from the public are still welcome.

“This last week I felt so bad, there was this one young guy and he found these shoes, and they’re not waterproof, and worse they don’t fit his feet and he walks all day long,” Wells said.

“I walked him down to Value Village just around the corner, and they have a selection of shoes, but to find something that’s waterproof, like a lot of old runners are mesh and the water gets in, so it’s really important to be waterproof and to fit them. And I couldn’t find him anything and you know, to spend $150 on something, we don’t have that kind of budget.”

Wells says he would love to be able to help people out in any way he can, but notes Three Links relies on donations to help its growing community.