United Way in Sudbury hands out shoes to those experiencing homelessness
The United Way Centraide North East Ontario has created an initiative called Soles United that's designed to help the homeless and groups that help the homeless.
It involves giving those agencies a chance to provide new summer footwear to their clients.
Officials with United Way said Soles United is necessary to help people who need shoes during the pandemic.
"It was really important that we worked with our community organizations who were providing supports for homeless in order to provide the individuals who needed our support and then to access funds that were available throughout our community response fund in order to purchase shoes," said Mary Lou Hussak, executive director with United Way Centraid North East Ontario.
Hussak said 359 pairs of shoes have been purchased and handed out locally.
"We worked with a number of local agencies to identify individuals who needed the shoes and then we worked with them to get the shoes to them and they distributed out that way," said Hussak.
One of the agencies receiving shoes was the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth. So far, 40 pairs have been handed out to clients, and staff said many of them were thrilled to have new shoes they can call their own.
"For a lot of folks, it’s so rare in life that they get those opportunities, it’s so rare that they get something that’s just theirs," said Joel Boivin, with Sudbury Action Centre for Youth.
"(It's) something that they know is theirs, that they can take care of, that’s worth taking care of right from the start, and that really has an impact on just their day-to-day (lives)."
The United Way said it couldn’t have launched the program without help from its donors. The plan is to make Souls United an annual initiative.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.