A message of hope:
Homeless receive shoes and socks through Eagle Scout project
Boy Scout Manuel Peredo-Muniz, a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Carmel, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese, talks with Glenda Moore at the Cathedral Kitchen and Food Pantry in Indianapolis after she helped him fulfill the service requirements for his Eagle Scout project. Moore and 147 other homeless people agreed to participate in a special foot clinic by having their feet washed then being fitted for new socks and shoes. Manuel is a freshman at Guérin Catholic High School in Noblesville, Ind. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
Glenda Moore is homeless and can’t find a job.
On most days, she doesn’t have much to smile about as she walks along near-north side streets in Indianapolis on her way to the Cathedral Kitchen and Food Pantry for a free hot meal and groceries.
But on Oct. 19—the day that the Catholic Church observed World Mission Sunday—Moore smiled often as she talked with Boy Scout Manuel Peredo-Muniz at the Cathedral Kitchen adjacent to SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral.
She was excited about a special opportunity to help Manuel earn his Eagle Scout badge by having her feet washed and being fitted for new shoes.
“I got up this morning and I walked down here,” Moore said after receiving a new pair of socks and comfortable athletic shoes.
“I appreciate it very much,” she said. “They asked you what size shoe you wear. If you don’t know, they measure your feet. I think it’s swell for the young guy that is doing this because it shows that they care for the homeless. I told him personally thanks, and I think he’s doing a good job caring for the homeless people’s feet. I love to see young people make it because there’s a whole lot of us who haven’t [been able to succeed in life].”
Moore looked down at her new shoes and smiled.
“I have shelter at night, but it’s not as good as it should be,” she said. “I have a friend that is letting me stay in one of his houses, but it doesn’t have lights and stuff so I’ve just got a roof over my head. I have a little problem with reading. I can do motel work, but I’ve been trying [to get a job] and had no luck.”
She smiled again and shrugged her shoulders then picked up her bag of groceries, climbed the stairs and walked outside into the cool autumn weather.
Manuel, who is 14, volunteers at the Cathedral Kitchen with other members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Carmel, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese.
While helping serve food there for his eighth-grade service project, Manuel noticed that many homeless people need shoes that fit better and are suitable for lots of walking.
He decided to collect donated shoes and organize a foot clinic for homeless people with advice from Cathedral Kitchen and Food Pantry director Margie Pike, a Cathedral parishioner and registered nurse.
Doug Lowery, assistant scoutmaster of Troop #125 and a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, said Manuel’s Eagle Scout project is “centered right in service, centered right in the grace of Jesus Christ, and it’s modeled after the fact that if Christ was willing to wash the feet of the least of our brethren then it’s certainly something that we can do as well.”
Fifteen adults and 20 teenagers helped with his service project.
Dr. Patrick DeHeer, a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish who specializes in podiatric medicine, volunteered to examine people’s feet.
“It’s great to be here,” DeHeer explained during a short break. “I work at a couple of other free clinics and do a lot of medical mission work so this is something that is natural for me. I was very impressed to see Manuel come up with the concept to do this [foot clinic].”
DeHeer said improper hygiene, ill-fitting shoes and dirty socks cause fungal problems and other foot infections for homeless people, who must rely on their feet to get around every day.
“A lot of the people have arch problems,” he said. “Most of the people are on their feet all the time so they have a lot of overuse injuries, too.”
Manuel’s father, Carlos, and mother, Mercedes, helped him coordinate the foot care clinic for about 150 homeless people.
Teenagers carried tubs of warm water to the adult volunteers, who washed the homeless people’s feet and fitted their new shoes then prayed with them.
“Their feet are their only means of transportation and they need good walking shoes,” Carlos Peredo said. “We have a big group of volunteers from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, and also from [Boy Scout] Troop #131 at the Carmel United Methodist Church, which is where my son goes for Scouts.”
Manuel collected hundreds of pairs of donated shoes for men, women and children thanks to the generosity of members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Carmel United Methodist Church, Carmel Christian Church and Carmel Lutheran Church.
“I wanted to serve people in need with my Eagle Scout project,” Manuel explained. “I came here with 236 pairs of shoes. I was able to help 148 people. Everybody was really grateful. I heard some of their stories—everything from how some people chose to be homeless because they feel a sense of freedom to the people who just got out of prison or [had] dropped out of school and can’t get a job.”
Several hundred pairs of extra men’s, women’s and children’s shoes were given to the Catholic Charities Indianapolis Crisis Office, archdiocesan Refugee Resettlement Program and archdiocesan Birthline program, which serve low-income people.
“There were two parts to my project—the physical part and the spiritual part,” Manuel said. “The homeless people can walk easier, and they’ll have clean feet and good shoes. But the main part [of the project] was that we gave them a message of hope, and they know that there are people … who really care about them and will get down and wash their feet. All the volunteers prayed in a circle before we started, and each foot washer prayed with their clients.” †
