Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

Zahn says her neighbor saw a sight while he was at the Southern Arizona Veterans Administration donating clothes for the homeless.

"Our resident looked down and realized the man did not have any shoes. He was just walking around outside you know barefoot," says Zahn.

She says the homeless patient asked her neighbor if shoes were in the bags.

"It turned out there were a couple of pairs but they were size 8 and he needed thirteen's or something," says Zahn.

So, Zahn started collecting shoes.

"In one week we had like 109 pairs," she says.

She and other residents in Splendido, a retirement community in Northwest Tucson eventually gathered about 220 pairs shoes and about 250 pairs of socks.

Martin Twohill, the clinical director of Rehabilitation Programs at the VA on South Sixth Avenue, says "It's wonderful. They brought boots and different types that clients need."

He says donations are vital to his department, which works with homeless veterans.

"We have some funds to buy socks occasionally and stuff like that. Most of our donations come from different organizations or individuals," says Twohill.

The entire Southern Arizona VA health care system serves more than 150,000 veterans who are located in eight counties in southern Arizona and one county in western New Mexico.

"On a day to day basis we stay pretty busy. We see probably on average 6,500 contacts a year serving about 1,200 vets," says Twohill.

He has a certain loyalty to the men and women of the military.

"I retired from the Army and wanted to give back," says Twohill. "I know what it's like being away from family, eating cold food in a bivouac."

"I think it's seeing a guy that a year ago was living in a camp without hope and having his own place."

Loyalty and duty also affect the number of shoes and socks the donors provided.

"Many of them were military wives and even if their husbands passed away, they still had very strong feelings about this and they were eager to contribute," Zahn says.

Zahn is happy her friends and neighbors contribute so much on a regular basis, especially because she oversees so many volunteer projects.

"They're kind and generous. They really are. If they weren't, it wouldn't work. I wouldn't be able to pull these off. It's just because they like them. They feel good and you feel good," says Zahn.

Twohill knows every bit helps. New shoes provide not only protection, but allow the veterans to walk into a place of employment and apply for work knowing their shoes aren't betraying their status.

"That's our goal, to try and get every vet off the street and into their own place," says Twohill.