THUNDER BAY — Members of a local church are trying to help the homeless by making blankets out of foil-lined packaging such as potato chip bags.
Parishioners at St. Paul's United Church on Waverley Street plan to turn the blankets over to local organizations that support those who are living outdoors.
The plan has already received an enthusiastic endorsement from Elevate NWO, a group that's currently working with over 100 individuals residing in encampments scattered around the city.
St. Paul's congregation member Doreen Everitt initiated the project and recently held a workshop at the church.
"We all know that tinfoil blankets are part of emergency kits to put over an injured person to keep them warm. Well, tinfoil blankets can keep homeless people warm, too," she told TBnewswatch.
The conversion process is fairly straightforward, and has already proved itself in other parts of Canada and around the world.
Everitt said she first washes the bags in soapy water in the kitchen sink, then rinses them and hangs them up to dry
The next step involves using an iron on the silk setting.
"You put the two chip bags together, overlap them by half an inch or an inch, and use a piece of parchment paper or a pressing cloth and run your iron over it, and they just seal. You just make a long line of bags, then make another one, and you seal the lines together. Eventually you have a blanket."
A drop cloth from a paint store provides the material for a liner, and is also applied by using an iron at a low setting.
Elevate NWO executive director Holly Gauvin said she's thrilled to hear about the project.
"I always love projects that take an innovative approach and that help merge social issues and social responsibility. Here we have things like chip bags that end up in the landfill site, and we're putting them to really good use by meeting a need that's really evident in our community now, more than ever."
Gauvin said there are fewer concerns at this time of year about people trying to stay warm, but noted that when temperatures start to drop in August, being out overnight will become a challenge, "so to have access to these really well-thought-out items is going to be vital. My hat's off to them for their creativity."
Everitt hopes the St. Paul's project will catch on with other groups in the city.
"I would like to see more people get involved," she said. "There's no reason we can't help keep homeless people warm."
So far, she and her fellow parishioners have produced six blankets, while 10 more are ready to be completed with a plastic liner.
