A line of more than 20 homeless individuals braved the elements outside the Gilroy’s National Guard Armory Dec. 6, waiting in line for the cold weather shelter’s doors to open promptly at 6 p.m.
But it was no ordinary night at the facility, which is located on Wren Avenue and open seasonally during the cold months.
In fact, it was one for the record books.
Michael Dodd, a Gilroy resident since 1995 and owner of San Jose-based Applied Orthotics and Prosthetics, donated 50 pairs of brand new orthotics-ready shoes – a mix of work boots, dress shoes and athletic shoes – to visitors who flocked to the Armory last week.
“Over the years, we’ve had an excess of shoes that we really haven’t used, and rather than send them back to the company, we thought that we might donate them,” Dodd said.
The Emergency Housing Consortium LifeBuilders, a Milpitas-based nonprofit that provides shelter housing opportunities and supportive services to people in crisis and the Silicon Valley’s homeless, operates a 125-bed cold weather shelter between Dec. 2 and March 31, 2014. Now in it’s 20th year, the program provides hundreds of emergency shelter beds across Gilroy, San Jose and Sunnyvale.
“For most of us who have relatively comfortable lives, a pair of shoes is not that significant but it makes an enormous difference to people who are homeless,” said EHC LifeBuilders Communication Manager Claire Wagner. “Keeping their feet warm and dry is very difficult on the street and lack of appropriate footwear really affects their health, especially the people who have diabetes.”
“As far as I know – and in recent memory – we haven’t received a donation of that kind,” Wagner continued. “It’s not that common to get a whole lot of brand new shoes brought in.”
Since temperatures began to plummet, Santa Clara County’s recent cold snap led directly to the hypothermia deaths of three homeless men in San Jose and one other man in Saratoga between Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. There were no reported deaths or injuries to homeless in Gilroy, according to the on-duty watch commander with the Gilroy Police Department.
“Whether they are diabetic or not, it’s going to help them in the cold out here,” Zavala said.
Wagner noted that Dodd’s gift will have a lasting impact. Not only will recipients have a pair of comfortable, brand new shoes to keep their feet warm during South County’s cold winter nights, it could also boost their chances of landing a permanent home or even keeping a job.
“Many homeless people either have jobs or are looking for employment and decent footwear allows them to go forward with that,” Wagner said. “If they don’t have the appropriate footwear they can’t accept the job or even apply. We work with clients in a lot of different ways, as in supporting their search for jobs or helping them keep their jobs. Sometimes they literally just don’t have the appropriate clothing.”
A few days prior to the donation on Dec. 6, Dodd and one of his employees, Vickie Valdez, visited the Armory and spoke to some of the homeless waiting outside to find out what they needed.
“These people are very humble and don’t speak a lot; they just go about doing what they have to do,” Dodd said. “I told (the staff) about the shoes and they thought it was nice – but when I talked to the crowd outside they were pretty ecstatic.”
“It’s a nice thing to do for Christmas but this was all Valdez’s idea; I’m just going along to help, so she should get all the praise for this,” he continued. “I always try and do something for charity, and as a company, what we do is we provide a prosthetic to underprivileged people at least once a year.”
Just before Christmas 2012, Dodd and his staff fitted a San Jose woman with two prosthetic arms – something that typically costs hundreds, even thousands of dollars for someone without insurance.
Wagner said EHC Life Builders is accepting financial contributions to help offset the increased costs associated with opening the doors to the cold weather shelters. Partnering with Santa Clara County, the organization visits homeless encampments and hands out free supplies to help the needy stay warm. They will accept gently used coats, she said, but are in need of blankets, disposable razors, small toiletry items and new socks.
“I think (Applied Orthotics and Prosthetics) made a big difference,” Wagner added. “They found a way to help that was just really important.”
Dodd and his staff of four were ecstatic themselves at the Armory on Dec. 6. After fitting each person with brand new shoes, Dodd and his team handed out hearty holiday greetings to each visitor.
“Merry Christmas,” said Dodd, beaming with a warm smile each time.
