Livingston Coat Drive volunteers delivered 118 warm coats and multiple bags of winter accessories to North Reformed Church in Newark, in time to be distributed to the homeless and poor prior to the blizzard last weekend.
One of these presentations held special meaning for Jeff “the Coat Guy” Friedman, founder and coordinator of the Livingston Coat Drive. “I have known Lawrence, a kitchen worker at the North Reformed Church soup kitchen, for the three seasons that North Reformed has been a key Coat Drive distribution partner. Lawrence presents a special need in terms of the extreme size he requires. Our ‘Personal Shopping for the Homeless’ initiative answered his need with a new winter jacket, fleece under-jacket, and winter gloves. It was a beautiful thing to see.”
Friedman launched this new initiative earlier this month in keeping with the Coat Drive’s mission of “providing warmth to the poor, homeless and disenfranchised.” The inspiration came from two Coat Drive donors who, taking advantage of post-holiday sales, had gone out and purchased brand-new coats and accessories to donate.
“While sales and stocks of winter items are dwindling at area stores, it’s still not too late to become part of the Personal Shopping for the Homeless outreach,” the Coat Guy said. “Most people have heard the saying, ‘If you see something, say something.’ The Livingston Coat Drive’s version is, ‘If you see something, buy something.’ ”
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an organization which “works toward ending homelessness by improving homelessness policy, building on-the-ground capacity, and educating opinion leaders,” offers what Friedman calls “these eye-opening” statistics:
• In January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States.
• Of that number, 206,286 were people in families, and 358,422 were individuals.
• About 15% of the homeless population - 83,170 - are considered “chronically homeless” individuals.
• About 2% – 13,105 – are considered “chronically homeless” people in families.
• About 8% of homeless people – 47,725 – are veterans.
“We can make an impact right here in Essex County,” said Friedman. “It’s all about re-allocating our ample resources to those who literally have zero. Not even a warm coat. And it’s just so easy to donate. Can you imagine what it was like to go through last weekend’s blizzard without a warm coat to wear? Thousands of people, unfortunately, didn’t have to imagine it.”
In conclusion, the Coat Guy noted, “As Dr. Seuss once said, ‘Unless someone like ...
