Laura Davis, RN, setting up the foot care station at the Salvation Army for Connect Day during Homelessness Action Week.
During the North Shore Connect Days Shoe Drive, North Shore Chronic Disease Services collected 27 boxes of footwear and seven bags of socks! There were many hands that made the shoe drive a success! From volunteers Liz & Bev Parslow, who canvas and collect shoes all year round, to employees and public members who generously contributed shoes and donations.
The Shore Drive is part of two Connect Days events held every October during Homelessness Action Week. The goal of the events is to connect people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to services. The main Connect event at the Salvation Army saw eighty people attend for a breakfast and lunch, VCH services, hair cuts and outreach programs. Forty people attended the smaller Connect event for women and children at John Braithwaite Community Centre for a lunch, VCH services, hair cuts and more!
North Shore Chronic Disease Services, North Shore Population Health, and Early Years and CDC nurses all provided services and were kept busy during both events, which included Nurse Practioner consultations, immunizations, OT foot care and education, respiratory spirometry testing and tobacco cessation counseling. The STOP HIV team provided HIV testing and education, and BCIT nursing students also attended, educating people about diabetes, both in English and Farsi. Specialized foot care treatment was offered by Foot Care Nurse, Laura Davis, for those clients who required more complex foot care. One client’s feedback says it all…“I have never received this kind of attention and care in my life. I didn’t know it existed”.