The following article explains one woman's experience with this project.
St Paul’s Catholic Church Homeless Sleeping Mat Project
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank
Fortunately at St Joseph’s Hospital, where I have worked for many years, we are sent daily quotes and prayers. This one struck a chord with me; “God gives blessing to us so that we can give blessings to others. The beauty of grace is that you receive blessings without reason. Gracious Living is to give blessings to others for no reason.” I had just finished the yearlong Just Faith program at St Paul’s which delved into many social justice issues, along with the fact that my daughter and I had volunteered many hours at Chris Becker Dining Hall through National Charity League, seeing firsthand the homelessness issues. All these experiences working together brought the Homeless Sleeping Mat Project to existence.
Nearing the end of 2010, a coworker told me about a church group back east that was taking plastic shopping bags and turning them into sleeping mats to give to homeless people. I was immediately excited about the idea and Google searched it as soon as I returned to my desk after lunch. www.lutheranchurchcharities.org/index.php
Then, I printed off the information and emailed the ladies at the church my questions regarding the project. Our family has been recycling and using canvas shopping bags for years. Luckily, my coworkers and my sister’s coworkers helped me round up the needed 700 to 900 bags to make one sleeping mat. I gradually cut up the bags to turn them into “yarn”, (think intertwining rubber bands) and I used my large P crochet hook to crochet the mat. I also added an attached cord to allow the mat to be rolled and then secured while also having a handle to carry the mat. There is a large pocket at the top of the mat that can be used, when stuffed with clothes, as a pillow. After finishing my first, I discovered that one mat could be completed in approximately fifteen hours. When a person receives a mat, they will also receive a Ziploc bag filled with travel sized toiletries, a letter discussing the process of making the mat, and an information card from St Joseph’s the Worker, an organization which provides job training to the homeless, amongst other resources. I deliver the completed mats to Chris Becker’s Dining Hall clients.
If you would like to help with this project, we meet at St Paul’s Catholic Church from 1 to 3pm the second Saturday of every month in room 10 to cut and create the yarn as well as crochet the mats. All are welcome and encouraged to attend; no prior experience necessary! I hope to have anyone interested in learning this process to come out so they may bring it back to their churches or other organizations. Just imagine how many plastic bags we could keep out of the landfills and how many people we could make just a little more comfortable in their unfortunate situations with just a little bit of time and effort!
Thank you,
Yvette Morelli Giesemann
How can we get involved?:- If you're interested in making mats or helping out with this particular project and are local, you can contact St. Paul's Parish: 602-942-2608
- Get a group of friends together, find a local shelter and learn how to make mats!:
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