WE ALL NEED A LITTLE KINDNESS
Sock Granny gives homeless a leg up
Barbara Vance wants to convince you it takes little effort to help Vancouver’s most vulnerable.
Decades ago, Vance, 76, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. In September, she moved into the Little Mountain Place residential care facility after a serious illness left her dependent on a wheelchair. But what bothers her most is when people sit idle while others are in need. “I can’t stand pain in anybody,” she said.
“If they’re suffering, it just hurts me.”
Vance became known as the Sock Granny in 2013 while living at the assisted-living facility Terraces on 7th. She was visited by a woman from the MPA Society—a local nonprofit that supports homeless people with mental illness—who told her about the MPA’s annual drive to collect new or gently used socks for clients. For Vance, it seemed a simple way to comfort those who have little, so she “just had to help,” she said.
That year, through word of mouth and by spreading her message over social media, Vance collected more than 400 pairs of socks from fellow residents, and was given a nickname that would stick for years to come.
The B.C. Seniors Living Association named Vance its assisted-living senior of the year for her good work.
“It took the energy of one arm,” Vance said.
“And a voice.”
Last year, Vance collected more than 2,200 pairs of socks. She’s on track to surpass that this season, while also collecting other items that will help Vancouver’s homeless in the cold winter months.
Vance said she’s come to realize with age that it is easy to get wrapped up in one’s own health and other concerns. She worries people don’t spend enough time helping those in need, “something that should be in the back of your mind,” she said.
“There’s more than just you that’s important,” she added. “Everyone around you needs a kind touch. You don’t need to do very much.”
But rallying support isn’t hard once people understand what she’s trying to do, Vance said.
She is grateful for the help of her daughter-in-law Barbra and her granddaughters Serene and Amanda, who she said are now her “hands and legs,” co-ordinating volunteers, soliciting donations and spreading the Sock Granny message.
Vance said Serene inspired her to focus on collecting items specifically for Vancouver’s growing population of homeless women, so this year they’re making an appeal for feminine hygiene products, underwear and makeup.
Barbra said she has been overwhelmed by support for the Sock Granny drive.
“It’s huge now,” she said. “People want to help, especially in weather like this where it’s cold, it’s wet and it’s freezing … but a lot of people don’t know that you don’t have to spend money to help.”
The XinViteer Volunteer Organization, a group of Chinese students in B.C., collected more than 200 pieces of women’s clothing and other items for the Sock Granny. Terraces on 7th, a pair of cafes, a salon and Little Mountain Place have all worked to collect socks, coffee mugs, food and other items.
Little Mountain Place advertises the drive in other residential-care homes across the city and its own facilities. It donated unused blankets, and its residents have chipped in hundreds of pairs of socks.
Angie Martinez, administrator at Little Mountain Place, said Vance “really lives by her motto” of being kind.
She saw the power of Vance’s work while stopping by a local dollar store and chatting about it with a cashier. The cashier told Martinez to pop by later in the week and when she did, the cashier gave her an entire bag of socks.
Before Christmas, the MPA Society will pick up all the items Vance and her supporters have collected. Anyone who wants to help is encouraged to bring items to Little Mountain Place at 330 E. 36th Ave.