My good
friend Sarah Stacy, who manages the Mission’s Resource Advocate Program (RAP)
for the chronically homeless, is genuinely excited about the possibilities of
more socks for the neighbors we serve. She states her case far better than I
could ever hope to rewrite it:
“The
homeless are at great risk of frostbite on their feet for a number of reasons,
one of which is damp socks or dirty socks that lose their ‘fluff’ (those air
pockets between the fibers that help our feet stay warm) and ability to protect
the skin.
“Frostbite
can take up to two years of extensive medical treatment to get taken care of,
including inpatient care, managed pain control (which is risky for those with
addictive personalities) and visits to wound clinics several times a week
during the healing process. It’s ugly as the tissue that was frozen falls
off. Medical personnel usually have to wait until the toes ‘self-amputate’
to preserve as much of the foot as possible in the healing process.
“Treatment
is painful and VERY EXPENSIVE to the community. Yet adequate footwear,
including socks, could prevent the problem.
“One of the
yuckiest parts of caring for the homeless is asking to see their feet in the
cold to help prevent these problems. We have to educate, educate, educate
our homeless to take care of their feet, and providing clean warm socks is a
major way to help.”
So one more
time for those of you in the Pikes Peak Region: You can find sock drop boxes
around town in Colorado Springs. There are boxes located at TCF Bank (Powers
& Constitution), Remington College, Nazarene Bible College, Gold’s Gym
Briargate, The Coffee Exchange, Hollywood Theater (where Timothy Green will debut on August 15) & Community Bible Study.
Your gift of
just one pair of socks could save someone a lot of pain, and the community
thousands of dollars. (Imagine what a package of six pairs might do…)
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