Communities are always trying to find ways to give back to the homeless population. From cooking made-from-scratch meals to providing free hot showers and laundry services for these individuals, there are many outstanding ways people have offered their assistance.
Another individual helping the homeless that’s worth noting is 49-year-old veterinarian, Kwana Stewart. Rather than judging homeless people who have pets, the California vet provides their pets free-of-charge veterinary treatments.
A career as a veterinarian was always Dr. Stewart’s destiny. He grew up in New Mexico where he saved strays all throughout childhood. His love for helping animals eventually brought him to where he is today, working with animals in Modesto, California as his county’s local veterinarian.
“Modesto got hit especially hard [during the Great Recession of 2007], it was ground zero for California as far as job loss and home loss, and people were just dumping their pets in shelters,” Stewart said.
The economic trouble in Modesto is what first inspired Stewart to eventually give back to the homeless population.
“That was the moment for me career-wise that was enlightening. Up until then, I’d been practicing high-end medicine for clients who could pay for everything. But suddenly I was thrown into this economic war and people couldn’t even afford to help their pets.”
The first way Stewart gave back to the homeless community was by working at a soup kitchen with his son and girlfriend back in 2011. When he spotted a homeless individual with an animal at the soup kitchen, he asked if he could give them a check-up.
“Before I knew it, I had a whole line,” he said. “There was something about it that I loved. I did it one more time before I decided to just take it to the street and walk to homeless people instead of waiting for them to walk up to me.”
Now the rest is history! Stewart continues to look for homeless people with pets to treat them free-of-charge for things like arthritis, poor oral health, fleas, allergies, and various infections. Even when the veterinarian is walking or driving around town for other reasons, he always keeps a bag with his supplies on hand, along with animal treats, just in case he spots a pet in need.
“These homeless people take care of their pets even better than we do,” he said. “When they own a pet, it engenders this generosity. They always make sure their pet is fed. Medically is where they need help.”
Dr. Stewart has been working in his field for over 20 years. Just in the past 9 years, he has helped at least 400 homeless peoples’ pets!
But in order to continue his role at the “Street Vet,” he heavily relies on donations from the community. Visit his GoFundMe campaign if you’re interested in donating!
