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.