Join the Social Service graduating students at Sole Support on May 1

Third-year students in the Social Service program have organized a day of awareness about the importance of footcare for the unhoused taking place in Conrod’s (2F.4) from 9 AM to 4:30 PM. The Communications Office asked the team of 17 students about their event, Sole Support. Here is the Q & A:

What inspired you to come up with this project, Sole Support?

The inspiration for this project came from the desire to help vulnerable individuals. The idea behind creating Sole Support was to find a social issue that was not properly represented. Through research and a class vote, the population chosen was homeless men struggling with foot care.

The name idea behind Sole Support comes from the idea of supporting individuals with foot care and hygiene, thus having sole support.

What do you hope to accomplish on May 1?

On May 1, our group will hold an event for the purpose of providing awareness and an educational piece to inform about foot care, presented by health professionals. Our second objective is to obtain donations & funds to provide resources (shoes, foot hygiene products, foot kits) to our partner organizations, The Open Door of Montreal.

What would you most like fellow students and members of the Dawson community to know and do? How can they help?

The Dawson community can partake in the upcoming event by listening to the professional presenters, buying baked goods, and having a good time. If they desire, the students and teachers have the opportunity to help by buying baked goods, and the money will go towards the donations or the collaborating shelter. They can also donate pairs of shoes, socks, or any hygiene product that can be used for foot care. The drop box is located in the social service lounge (4H.10), the door opposite to the elevator. The box is on the left as you enter the room.

What did you learn during the course of this project that surprised you or that you found particularly insightful?

During this course, we have learned the hardship of building a service from nothing to support the homeless population. What marked us was the accessibility of services offered for homeless individuals for foot care. We struggled to reach out to some service providers, and we had a team solely focused on the outreach for foot care services. The lack of services for foot care is less than we anticipated. One thing to remember is that everyone can become homeless, and helping those in need is also helping oneself.

There is a disconnect between the services offered and the healthcare professional giving those services. It was mentioned that the healthcare professional had shared the information on the internet, but individuals living in the street and workers might not have the luxury of looking at the information or having access to the information.

Do you or any of your teammates on this project have plans to continue working with the unhoused population after graduating from Social Service?

Our line of work requires all of us to work with a diverse population. Some students expressed a desire to continue to work with unhoused individuals who live housing insecurity.