Randy Brown has a special love of shoes. Owner of 25 pairs of running shoes alone, Brown can afford to indulge with the gas and parking money he saves by walking to work.

He admits the four-block, five-minute trek from his city home to his office at the Center for Community Resources on Main Street is more manageable than what most people face daily.

But it wasn't always that way.

Brown started walking to work in 2001, when he began working as a nursing assistant at VA Butler Healthcare. His commute then was four miles — about an hour's worth of effort one way.

“I was pretty proud to be able to walk there every day,” Brown said. “Once I made it, it was an accomplishment. I would think to myself, 'This walk is going to get me where I need to be in life.' Where there is a will, there's a way.”

Brown said initially he didn't have a vehicle and was too proud to seek help. But he grew to enjoy the walk and it provided him health benefits.

“I was in the greatest shape of my life,” Brown said.

After retiring from the VA in 2013, Brown took his current position as a life skills coach with the HOPE (Housing Options Promote Empowerment) program. He works with people who are chronically homeless on the activities of daily living and obstacles they may encounter.

“The biggest obstacle in this county for these people to find employment is transportation,” he said. “Transportation is limited. And I'm not saying just for our clients, but many people in Butler have trouble.”

Today, Brown owns a Chevy Trax that he describes as “four-door mini SUV that's good on gas.”

He could use it to make the trip to and from work. But instead, he saves it for fun, especially spending time with friends and traveling to visit family.

“I get to see the world. I know a lot of people don't have that opportunity,” Brown said. “I lived a lot of life and now it's time to start living.”

Brown said some of the best things he encounters on his travels, though, are on his commute. “I don't think people realize how much you can see in just those four blocks.”

Brown, who can be seen almost every day with his briefcase and running shoes, said he enjoys the people he encounters, too.

“In the winter, I throw on my boots,” he said. “I'm like the post office --- I walk in the rain, the snow … It was more difficult when I worked at the VA. No comparison. But I always knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel."