Five months ago, Miami resident Gabriel Varona came across a homeless man in a dumpster. The man was looking to replace his hand-stapled cardboard shoes with anything he could find in the trash. Varona discovered the man was the same shoe size as Varona himself and, “It hit me,” says Verona. He took his own shoes off his feet, giving them to the homeless man.
In that moment Varona started his non-profit Shoes for Streets, serving the 3,700+ homeless in Miami Dade county, by outfitting them with wearable shoes and sneakers to make their lives on the streets a little easier.
In the five months since that moment at the dumpster, Varona has hand delivered thousands of shoes and sneakers around Miami. Culling from thirteen drop-off locations in the area, and donations through social media, Varona continues to serve his community in his own personal way.
For more information on Shoes for Streets check out the story as it appeared on CBS Miami, and shoesforstreets on Instagram.
