CNN Honors A Vet on the Streets as Hero of the Year
The ten finalists in CNN’s Hero of the Year 2023 honors are involved in literacy projects, reef-building, children of incarcerated parents, and the like, described by Anderson Cooper as “Inspiring people who are making the world a better place.”
The winner, Dr. Kwane Stewart, is a San Diego veterinarian who brings much needed care to the pets of the homeless. Stewart’s outreach on the streets started more than a decade ago, when he stopped to examine the dog of a homeless man outside a 7-11. The vet treated the dog’s skin condition, and when its owner said “Thank you for not ignoring me,” the vet was touched – and inspired.
“That was the moment I said to myself, ‘I’m going to do more of this. I’m going to get back to saving animals on my terms. And I’m going to do it for passion, not for pay.’” Stewart set up small drop-in clinics to provide medical care to pets whose owners couldn’t afford it and began walking the streets to seek out homeless pet owners.
Thus Project Street Vet was born, a non-profit Stewart founded in 2020 to treat homeless pets in southern California and has already expanded to other cities, such as Orlando and Atlanta. Stewart himself is often at work in LA’s Central City East, more famously known as Skid Row.
The good doctor carries a portable medical kit – containing antibiotics, vaccines, anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as deworming and flea-and-tick meds – that he says covers about 80% of the cases he sees on the streets. “It’s boots on the ground,” he says, noting that his team will also connect animals in need with clinic services. “Whenever we can, we advocate for or assist people in getting their animals spayed and neutered.”
Stewart and his team of volunteers have treated thousands of animals. You can help out at Project Street Vet, although they’re probably flush for a while. As CNN Hero of the Year, Stewart will receive $100,000 to expand his work and will also be named an Elevate Prize winner, which comes with $300,000 in unrestricted funding and resources.
Photo credit: Project Street Vet
