Trench Foot, a disease most widely associated with soldiers living in trenches during the world wars, is a problem that affects many homeless people. Rotary Clubs in WA are responding.
Trench foot and warm water immersion foot are serious conditions that result from your feet being wet for too long. The condition first became known during World War I, when soldiers got trench foot from fighting in cold, wet conditions in trenches without the extra socks or boots to help keep their feet dry. Trench foot killed an estimated 2,000 American and 75,000 British soldiers during WWI.
Although practically unheard of in our modern world, it has become prevalent in homeless people during winter if they cannot get their feet dry. Homeless people struggle to find clean dry socks to wear. As a result, they can develop both trench foot and warm water immersion foot. A homeless person with a history of this is 8 times more likely to die in the next 5 years compared to a person who is not homeless.
To address this problem, Rotary in conjunction with Homeless Healthcare initiated the Socks in the City project to collect and distribute clean dry socks to homeless people. During our recent Soup Night function, which we hold annually to raise money to assist people experiencing homelessness, members donated 150 pairs of socks together with $750. Dr Ken Mullin, who leads Rotary’s involvement in this project, reported that a total of 2000 pairs of socks were donated this year to this cause. For more information or to donate go to https://socksinthecity.org.au/.