Podiatrist caring for homeless people is made MBE

A woman who set out to help homeless people after she saw them limping and in pain has been recognised for her work.

Deborah Monk, a podiatrist, set up services for rough sleepers, where she tended to their feet and listened to their stories without judging them.

Some days she heard accounts that left her in tears, but she said it was about "listening with compassion and making them feel valued as human beings".

The 61-year-old from Redditch, Worcestershire, who founded the charity Forgotten Feet in 2013, has been made an MBE in the King's New Year Honours list.

After training as a podiatrist, Ms Monk saw homeless people using the Maggs Day Centre, limping and wearing ill-fitting footwear.

When she asked who looked after their feet, she discovered the centre had been waiting for years for a service.

She stepped in and treated people suffering from wounds, ulcers, blisters and general self-neglect.

But she said: "It wasn't just podiatry. It was about treating them with respect, treating them like human beings and listening to their stories with compassion, to make them feel valued as a human being."

During the sessions, people revealed experiences of everything from drug use to rape, she said, and Ms Monk was able to tell them where to find help.

She recalls she used to "come home and be in tears".

Rough sleepers often did not take off their shoes and socks for months, she said, adding: "These are the very poorest people in society and the most in need.

"Homeless people sleep in sleeping bags with their shoes and socks on, because a lot of people steal shoes."

She said people who wore wet shoes could get trench foot, or immersion foot, and bacterial infections.

"Their skin falls off. They get corns, calluses and blisters," she said. "They get frostbite and gangrene, all sorts of things, really serious conditions."

Ms Monk said she was "greatly honoured" by the MBE and hopes it will raise the profile of the charity, which has established volunteer podiatry centres across the UK.

The charity is governed by where it can find volunteers, but she said: "There should be, in every major city across the UK, at least one centre - and in Manchester, Birmingham and London, we need more."

Elsewhere, Jocelyn Daphne Finnigan, from Ledbury, who restored the once-derelict Grade II* listed Homme House by turning it into a wedding venue, said she "couldn't believe it" after she was appointed MBE for services to heritage and charity, adding: "I very quickly felt incredibly honoured."

Justin Matthew Thomas, from Kidderminster, from Young Gloves Karate, who has teamed up with West Midlands Police on anti-bullying, anti-knife crime campaigns and women's safety, has been awarded a BEM for services to young people.

He said he never imagined his work would lead to an honour, adding that it had been about "helping the children, seeing them develop," not only in karate but in building confidence.

Dance teacher Wendy Alison Latty, from Bromsgrove, at Alison School of Dance, who was awarded a BEM for services to dance, said she taught people from three to 85 years old.

She said the pleasure she got from watching them enjoy themselves was the joy she got from teaching.

Clive George Buckley, from Redditch, who was chairman of the Solihull fundraising branch for the RNLI, received a BEM for voluntary service.

He thanked his fellow committee members for their "unstinting support", adding: "It has made the rain-soaked fundraising days and standing on windswept railway stations, clutching a bucket, all worthwhile."

• Social worker Claire Burgess, from Pershore, Worcestershire, also Local Government Association advisor, is appointed CBE for services to children's social care
• Roger James Phillips JP, from Leominster, is made OBE for services to the community
• Ian Todd, from Hereford, chief executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, is appointed OBE
• Victoria Ann Wells, from Bromsgrove, who was director of sport at Youth Sport Trust, is made an OBE for services to special educational needs and disabilities
• Thomas Michael Clarke-Forrest, from Bromsgrove, founder and chief executive of Sport 4 Life UK is appointed MBE for services to young people
• Dean Mark Davies, from Hereford, Ministry of Defence (MoD) team leader, becomes MBE for services to defence
• Iain Andrew Haggis, from Malvern, who was an MoD senior scientist is made MBE for services to defence.
• Andrew Train, from Pershore, leader of Birmingham Community Paddle Sports Project is appointed MBE for services to sport.
• Philip James Edwards, chairman of Country Park Supporters Group, is awarded a BEM for services to Hereford public spaces.
• Helen Jane Gill, from Worcester, has been awarded a BEM for services to people with learning disabilities
• Dorothy Jean Pullen, of Hereford, is awarded a BEM for services to military personnel
• Sabhijinder Singh Hayer, from Bromsgrove, gym manager at Sam's Gym, also head coach at Oldbury Academy Weightlifting Club, receives a BEM for services to weightlifting and to the community

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