A Few Good Soles : Public Responds to Plea for Sneakers to Help Homeless

“I write this with some trepidation, not knowing what it will unleash.”

Thus began an unusual proposal put forward by a woman who had been moved by a newspaper article to do something for the homeless.

In a letter-to-the editor published three weeks ago, Glendale resident Judy Cash volunteered to collect old sneakers, clean them, and take them to the Homeless Care Project, a Silver Lake-based program that provides clothing and medical care to homeless people in nearby communities.

A recent Los Angeles Times story outlining the project’s financial difficulties had mentioned that serviceable shoes are highly sought after by men and women living on the streets. Project coordinators were quoted as saying that they never seemed to have enough footwear to meet the demand.

When Cash read the story, she said, the detail about the shoes leaped out, reminding her of an earlier thwarted effort she had made to help someone in need.

About a year ago, Cash, an industrial real estate broker, was panhandled by a homeless man on the street. Instead of giving him money, she engaged him in conversation. The man’s shoes were falling apart, and when she thought about it later, she decided she should buy him a new pair.

She returned eight times to the neighborhood where she met him, but never found him again. The memory has stuck with her ever since, so the mention of the Homeless Care Project’s need for shoes resonated strongly when she read it.

In her letter, she appealed to readers to “think for a moment about how great it feels to put on your sneakers when your feet are weary.” She then asked them to look in their closets for unwanted shoes and deliver them to her doorstep.

“It seemed the logical thing to do,” she said.

Cash simultaneously hoped and feared she would end up with 2,000 pairs of shoes on her hands.

So far, she has received a far more manageable 92 pairs. Most of them she washed and bleached. Some, however, appeared to be brand new and did not require any cleaning.

She has already delivered 69 pairs to the Hollywood-Sunset Community Clinic at 3324 Sunset Blvd. She’s waiting to make her next delivery, in the hope that more shoes will arrive. A collection box remains on Cash’s front porch at 610 W. Broadway and she plans to put up signs in some community centers, appealing for more shoes.

Staff members of the clinic, which runs the Homeless Care Project, are thrilled by the support they received as a result of the article.

In addition to the footwear, the project received about $700 in donations, including one check for $500, said Teresa Padua, the clinic’s executive director.

“It’s really good to know that people do care, and that they are still willing to help and give,” Padua said.

Bob Suazo, coordinator of the Homeless Care Project who spent five years as a homeless person himself, said he was shocked at the outpouring of shoes.

“I didn’t really think that people were going to respond,” he said. “It’s great.”