Very First Mat Made For The Homeless

Plarn is simply yarn made from plastic bags and it s been around for a long time although it keeps being re discovered by the mainstream media apparently.

Very first mat made for the homeless.

Meanwhile in norwalk iowa the mighty mat makers meet once a week at st. From plarn sleeping mats to homemade clothing and blankets there are so many ways that crafters can help the homeless. Her goal is to crochet 10 mats for the homeless this year. A smaller version of the mat say 3 3 or small mat that didn t get finished would be perfect.

Each 120 row mat is made up of 500 to. The mats are used to keep the homeless off of the wet cold hot hard ground. You can lay on this with. Every now and then i see the same news articles coming around again.

Members of the homeless community have consistently expressed their gratitude for the mats recognizing the crocheters for their hard work mr. Back in 2013 we wrote about new life for old bags a. The ground can get very hot or cold to sleep on and just having a little bit of separation between the wet ground and the body can mean a lot. Fifteen homeless people who will sleep a little more comfortably this winter.

The women have made about 15 mats that ll be delivered to the pine street inn in boston. John the apostle catholic church to create their own mats using about 700 plastic bags apiece. Betsy greer wrote a beautiful series of pieces not too long ago about crafting privilege and using our hands to give back and it feels like kismet that my friend jeff wrote about plarn sleeping mats to help the homeless just a few weeks later. Many of the homeless have dogs as traveling companions and they need a place to sleep as well.

So far this year the group has made 40 with a goal of 150 for the year. The mat is made of plastic and is about a 1 2 inch thick. They are turning plastic bags into mats for the homeless for extra padding and a moisture barrier. The west allis mercy mats group made 76 mats last year that were given to the maccanon brown homeless sanctuary in milwaukee.

Planning for next year i think we could double that at least she said adding she d like to build up a surplus for next year too. Though they may live under a bridge when it rains the ground still gets wet. The mighty mat makers has found a use for their crocheting skills.