A CARE home provider has launched a sock collection on World Kindness Day to help the homeless.

Sanctuary Care’s homes Regent Residential Care Home in St John’s decided to help Forgotten Feet, a charity providing a free chiropody and podiatry service for the homeless and socially isolated, as well as socks and shoes.

The charity was founded by the home’s visiting podiatrist Deborah Monk, who in their spare time provide services for free at special clinics, including one which takes place every six weeks at the city’s Maggs Day Centre, supporting homeless people in Worcester.

Staff at Regent, in School Road, decided that World Kindness Day on Monday November 13 would be the perfect day to start their own sock collection for Forgotten Feet, which will also be rolled out across Sanctuary Care’s eight other homes in Worcester, Malvern, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Droitwich, Pershore, Upton-upon-Severn and Stourport-on-Severn.

Regent’s manager Denise Clark said: “Sanctuary Care’s vision is ‘keeping kindness at the heart of our care’, so we decided what better way to extend kindness on such a special day than supporting this amazing charity.”

Forgotten Feet founder, Ms Monk said: “Homeless people needless to say, are on their feet in all weathers. Sometimes they may not have taken their shoes or socks off for over a month and a lot them have experienced real self-neglect.”

Conditions experienced by clients, who are primarily homeless but can include people who are socially isolated, include severe blisters, callouses, infections, wounds and long nails.

After treating someone’s feet, Forgotten Feet will provide them with clean socks and where necessary replace their shoes, so the charity welcomes new and second-hand socks and footwear, as long as they are clean.

For more information about Forgotten Feet, or to find out how you can help, email Debimonk@hotmail.com. The charity’s website is www.forgottenfeet.uk.