Nonprofit works to put homeless on their feet

In order to create great change, inevitably you have to take a courageous first step.

Oxford & Amie’s, a San Bernardino County nonprofit organization hoping to ease and thwart homelessness, did that in 2018. Working with charitable people and groups, Angela Amie and her husband launched the organization to offer assistance and shed light on homelessness.

“The name Oxford is for shoes and Amie for friends, which also happens to be our last name,” Founder/community Relations Specialist Angela Amie said. “People think that we’re just a shoe charity, but the premise of what we do is getting people’s feet off the ground. Yes, at all our events, we do supply shoes, however, we incorporate education, career training resources and mental-health awareness trainings.”

“We’re not just, like, saying we want to get shoes on your feet because you don’t have shoes,” she added, “but that we know the value of information and education and the need for training.”

With an understanding that homeless people may need job and career assistance, Oxford & Amie’s strives to get people to the next level of understanding and advancement.

“It’s not just shoes,” Amie said. “It’s literally the ability to help somebody be able to get to that

next step because you know you can’t kind of do anything without shoes.”

Shoes, or the lack thereof, in fact, have become one of the most visible signs of poverty in the United States. Providing shoes often brings a feeling of dignity and joy. That makes a huge difference in the lives of homeless people, considering the recent statistics.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2023, the nation’s homeless population hovered

above 650,000. Last year, KTLA reported that homelessness rose across the Inland Empire, with San Bernardino County’s homeless population rising nearly 26%. Riverside County reported 3,725 unhoused individuals in 2023, an uptick from 3,316 in 2022.

Recently, Oxford & Amie’s received a Black Equity Fund grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation. The resources helped the nonprofit group launch a maternal health development component, Amie said.

The idea found momentum after one the nonprofit group’s board members, who worked on the OBGYN side of healthcare, decided to serve low-income mothers, providing training about healthcare during and after pregnancy.

“Because of the grant, we were to expand our reach because normally, we’re not always able to get so specific,” Amie said. “Most of the times, we go out and find locations that are in the heart of where low-income individuals are, and hope they come out to us, but with this particular grant, we knew where we were going to as opposed to hoping that they can get to us. Our board member did the training, then we were able to gift the moms.”

The organization’s reach stretches beyond providing donated shoes. Leaping off its main founding intention — to address San Bernardino County’s homeless issues — Oxford & Amie’s offers help with rental assistance and fighting poverty. It’s all thanks, in part, to partnerships with corporations and volunteer groups, as well as individual donations.

Another initiative revolves around enhancing one’s overall wellbeing by linking proper footwear to listening to one’s favorite music. To that end, the organization strives to educate clients and donors about the effectiveness of having well-cushioned shoes, for instance, and access to music.

The combination of the two creates emotional and psychological health benefits of music, Amie shared, adding that “your wellbeing needs to be whole.”

To learn more about Oxford & Amie’s, or about volunteer opportunities, visit oxfordsandamies.org.

COURTESY PHOTOS Registered nurse and maternal health teacher Gwendolyn Black-amie is seen Feb. 29. She is pictured with bags for mothers in a shelter. She taught them about prenatal health and about a baby’s health needs in their first few months.

A shoe distribution event is seen in Fontana.