Warm winter comfort for homeless – article in the Armidale Express
By Lucas Forbes
Armidale diocese Executive Officer Tony Wood examines one of the newly donated winter Coats with St Vincent de Paul Council President Kerry Muir. Picture: The Armidale Express
The Order of Malta has donated some warm winter coats to St Vincent de Paul to help keep the homeless comfortable.
Armidale St Vincent de Paul council president Kerry Muir said his organisation came across a lot of homeless people who might have to sleep outside in New England’s notorious winter.
“In our welfare work we come across people who are actually homeless and these coats will give them something to wear when they’re sleeping rough,” he said.
Order of Malta member Ian Unsworth presented Vinnies with 10 custom made jackets.
Mr Unsworth said while there were a lot of organisations doing work with the homeless in urban areas there was not as much attention paid to regional Australia.
“There are a lot of good organisation’s but they forget there are the same homeless people in the country as in the city,” he said.
“I pushed for very hard for some coats to get up here because I said ‘there’s a lot of homeless who don’t live in the cities’.”
Mr Unsworth also said while he was happy to give the coats out, it would be better if there was no need for them at all.
“You hope in the very near future that he or she finds they are given somewhere to stay and won’t need that coat,” he said.
“At the present the nights are getting quite cold…I wouldn’t want to sleep in an old abandoned car,” he said.
Vinnies will give out the coats based on interviews with homeless people.
The coats are waterproof and feature deep pockets on the inside so homeless people can safely store what valuables they have without fear of them getting stolen.
Related articles:
Warmer nights ahead – article in the Tenterfield Star
Canterbury supports Coats for the Homeless
Coats for the Homeless – a Nationwide project
Article on Coats for the Homeless in the Daily Liberal
Coats for the Homeless in the TVSN Charity of Choice Partner for July
Project update – Coats for the homeless distribution network
