As temperatures fluctuate this winter in Michigan, one thing for sure is snowy, icy and even cold rainy days are here through March and warm winter boots and socks are still a “must have” in Michigan. Without adequate clothing, often low-income families and people experiencing homelessness have a much higher risk than the general population of developing exposure-related conditions such as hypothermia and frostbite.
To protect families from the cold, Toyota Motor North America through its “Toyota Walk In My Boots” community outreach project and North American International Auto Show activities, is stepping in to help area low-income and homeless families by providing new insulated boots and socks to more than 200 participants of The Salvation Army Conner Creek Corps Community Center located on Detroit’s Eastside and The Salvation Army Booth Services of Detroit, a homeless shelter for primarily women and single mothers and their children.
If you are poor, you are essentially an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets. In Detroit alone, two-thirds of people can’t afford basic needs like housing and health care, even when family members are employed; and 67% of Detroit families are either under the poverty line or what is identified as “ALICE”, asset-limited, income-constrained, employed. Meanwhile, more than half of Michigan’s homeless population is made up of families; and one in three who are homeless are children.
With this donation, many families will be shielded from the cold. Toyota also plans to give a $15,000 donation to The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit enabling them to continue to provide refuge for children and families in times of crisis. They will also provide a “Thanksgiving-style” buffet luncheon for the families.
-- Press release courtesy of Toyota
