As temperatures drop and weather turns Victoria shelter are seeing higher volumes of people turning in at night, prompting a need for more blanket donations.
“Winter is upon us, and with that comes an increase in pressure for all shelter organizations to help people be safe and be inside, especially at night,” said Linda McLean, director of program development at Our Place Society.
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McLean added that with the weather turning, often times the extreme weather protocol will be activated, which calls for extra mats to be put down at additional shelter areas.
“In addition to 60 mats at the First Metropolitan Church, we have 30 here at 919 Pandora, and an additional 15 at Seventh Day Adventist Church,” McLean said, noting another 15 mats at My Place as backups in extreme cases. “That means essentially we’ve doubled our shelter capacity this month, which means instead of 60 mats we need 120 mats.”
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While a coat and blanket drive went on in October and saw more than 300 donations, McLean said donations move fast.
“Now we’re back down to scraping the bottom of the bin again.”
Shelter patrons are expected to use the blanket for the night and turn them in again in the morning so they can be laundered and re-used, but McLean said no one has ever been turned away if they want to use the blanket as they head out in chilly mornings.
“Plus the blankets get worn, they get stained, they get old,” she said.
New or lightly used blankets of all sizes, as well as winter coats, hats, gloves and socks are all being accepted seven days a week between 6:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. at Our Place at 919 Pandora Ave.
For more information, you can visit ourplacesociety.com.
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