Salon owner clothes the homeless, offers mammograms

Loretta Morris walks past the mammogram  bus at an event on Martin Luther King Boulevard to offer mammograms, clothing and food to the homeless Friday, October 9, 2015. Morris was there to get a mammogram.
Loretta Morris walks past the mammogram bus at an event on Martin Luther King Boulevard to offer mammograms, clothing and food to the homeless Friday, October 9, 2015. Morris was there to get a mammogram.

Last year, Tera Johnson gave a homeless man a pair of shoes.

That case sticks with her. He was articulate and intelligent, and Johnson said you wouldn't guess he was homeless. But he wore a tap shoe on one foot and a too-tight shoe on the other. It took a few days, but Johnson found him some lace-up, black dress shoes. Size 10 1/2.

"When you do that, it kind of makes you value where you are," she said. "Because initially you think you're going to make a difference in somebody's life, but in turn they make a difference in your life."

Friday was the second time Johnson, owner of Radiant Salon on M.L. King Boulevard, hosted the Radiant Health Fair and Clothes Drive. The event gave free clothes to the homeless, fed them and offered mammograms. Johnson has owned her salon since 2009, and every day she's seen homeless people walk by. So, she decided to do something.

Last year, they clothed 150 homeless people. They haven't done the final tallies for this year's event, but she estimates more than 100 people were clothed Friday. The salon asked for donations from private citizens and stores, and they were able to pamper people, too. They had men's, women's and kid's sections set up in an adjacent parking lot.

"We have someone who will ask their sizes, so they can have an experience like at a store," she said. "So they can pick out things they like and they need."

When people left, they had a shopping bag of new clothes and a full belly.

To find people to help, Johnson went to areas she knows the homeless go - Miller Park, the Salvation Army, Patten Towers - and handed out flyers. This will be a recurring event every year, she said.

Her aunt, Delma Brooks, organized the mammograms. Brooks is a cancer survivor and offered mammogram screenings at her church for seven years. This year, she teamed up with her niece. Next to the clothes department, there was a giant pink bus offering women free mammograms. Brooks helped 15 women this year, and said her favorite part is when young women get themselves checked.

"Younger women need mammograms, as well," Brooks said. "People are dying at every age."

Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ehoopfer@timesfreepress.com, @EvanHoopfer on Twitter or 423-757-6731.

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