THUNDER BAY – Marlo Ellis is appealing to travellers to donate any hotel-size toiletries they may have collected on their journeys to help the homeless.
Ellis, founder of the Uncommon Woman, says it’s something that’s been done in Hong Kong for nearly two decades and provides a morale boost to a growing number of people who don’t have a permanent place to call home.
The kits, which could include shampoo, lotion, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap and feminine hygiene products, as well as a small case to carry them in, will be distributed to shelters, including Grace Place, to give out to clients who otherwise might go without.
“The statistics are out there showing that homelessness and domestic violence ... are rising or spiking at as a result of COVID. What we’re doing, by providing these resources to shelters and the homeless, we’re taking some of the responsibilities off of the shelters,” Ellis said.
“Of course funding is down, they’re not able to do their fundraisers the way they normally can. So we’re providing them with resources they can pass off to people.”
According to Ellis, between 250 and 300 people walk through the doors at Grace Place each day. Because of COVID, they don’t have access to the showers like they did in previous times.
The Kind Kit program helps fill some of that gap with soaps and other toiletries they’d normally be able to use at a shelter.
“It’s something to give them at the door to take away with their meals,” Ellis said.
The plan is to leave hampers out at locations around the city, including European Meats and Spa Euphoria, through the end of November, then collect the donations and put them together in kits to hand out closer to the holiday season.
“Obviously between cold weather and people being even more financially tight than usual during the holiday season, so we want to make sure that some of these basic human needs are available to these people,” Ellis said.
“What it does is it restores their dignity and it also gives them an opportunity to stay healthy during this time.”
Ellis said they’re only accepting unopened toiletries and gently used kits, noting they cannot accept full-size items at this time.
