Shelter provides shoes to homeless

Wednesday, March 7, 2001 | 10:59 a.m.

More than 250 homeless men today received new tennis shoes as part of an incentive program at the MASH Emergency Weather Shelter.

MASH Village officials used the event to note that they will close the winter emergency shelter March 31 because of a lack of funds.

Shelter officials said that while plans are to cease the winter relief operation at month's end, they could keep the temporary program in operation through April if they can raise an additional $20,000 to $25,000 in the coming weeks.

The Las Vegas City Council will vote on whether to provide more funding before the end of the month. The Clark County Commission already approved $20,000 for the emergency shelter.

The shelter this morning gave each resident of the emergency program a pair of shoes in exchange for either seeing a case manager, writing a resume in the facility's resume room or attending a job-seekers workshop within the next two weeks.

Officials at the shelter said new shoes are vital to the homeless population because many are unable to afford even the least expensive modes of transportation, including city buses, and must walk the majority of time to get to their destinations.

Also, officials said, a number of the homeless people battle chronic illnesses like diabetes and need correct footwear to avoid serious problems connected to those ailments.

Dr. Todd Zang, a volunteer podiatrist, was on hand to help resolve foot problems of the clients of the shelter, officials said.

MASH Village can be reached at 388-0088.