Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Ira Diamond.
Hi Dr. Diamond, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a recently retired podiatrist. In my practice, I had many homeless patients, many of whom had no shoes or very inadequate shoes. It was very sad to see all the foot problems caused by people walking with no shoes or with shoes that were falling apart. So, early in my career, I began collecting shoes for the patients in my practice. Soon, I gave to other organizations who serve the homeless and in 2011, I founded Shoes for the Homeless, Inc., a 501 c 3 non-profit organization. Our mission is to provide shoes to the homeless and those in need, free of any charge, in local communities throughout the United States. Today we are active in many cities and other states.
Shoes are one of the most needed items for someone who is homeless. Shoes provide comfort, relief from pain, help prevent and heal foot problems, help individuals get employment, provide dignity and improve the overall quality of life. We need lightly used or new men’s, women’s and children’s shoes, casual and dress. Some believe we only need adult shoes, but there is a big need for children’s shoes too. Children grow out of shoes so quickly. It is crucial that children have proper fitting shoes to prevent foot problems. With children’s shoes being so expensive, it is challenging for parents to afford shoes, so we definitely need children’s shoes!
How do we provide for all of this? Collaboration with volunteers, businesses and other non-profits is crucial to our success. We currently offer three engagement opportunities. They are: 1. Organize a shoe drive or drop off your shoe donations at one of our many drop-off locations 2. Volunteer at our shoe processing events. 3. Become a corporate sponsor or make an individual monetary donation.
We just launched PROJECT 65,000, which we are very excited about. 65,000 is the approximate number of homeless men, women and children in the greater Los Angeles area on any given day, based on the previous greater Los Angeles Homeless count. The purpose of this project is to provide a good pair of shoes to everyone in need! We need more shoe donations, volunteers, non-profit partners and of course monetary donations to make this project successful!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Initially, our challenge was finding a location to store the donated shoes, finding enough volunteers to process the shoes, and finding non-profits to partner with. Through outreach to our local community, we initially obtained a small location to store the shoes. Then we were able to purchase two large containers and store them at a larger location. Social media, Constant Contact, and our website enabled us to reach out to find volunteers and non-profits. As we grow, new challenges will arise which we will address with the help of our outstanding Board, staff and volunteers.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a podiatric physician and surgeon, it was very rewarding to serve my patients for many years. I also loved serving on the Culver City Committee on Homelessness for eight years. I am now retired and spend time supporting the ongoing efforts of Shoes for the Homeless, Inc. In 2018, I was very honored to receive “The Annual Local Hero Award” from The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Los Angeles. In 2021 Shoes for the Homeless, Inc. received the second annual “Non-profit Transformational Prize” supported by the Wende Museum on behalf of Culver City non-profits.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
People still need shoes, even during a pandemic! We non-profits needed to be nimble and adjust to not being able to congregate in groups and still accomplish our missions. Our organization learned to process the shoes internally during the pandemic. In 2021, due to us being adaptive, we actually tripled the number of shoes we were able to provide to the homeless and those in need as compared to the previous year!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.shoesforthehomeless.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/shoesforthehomeless/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoesforthehomeless/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChv6ZB2TTXalV8SB7jVVYlw
- Other: Project 65000: www.shoesforthehomeless.net/project-65000
Image Credits:
(from left to right): Michael Hudson, Jose Ramirez, Sabrina Pick, Rosie La Briola, Ira Diamond
