A Blog Post from Tom Holmes

Many PADS volunteers have been serving the homeless in our area for many years. For me, it’s not something I think about much. Like going to church on Sunday or brushing my teeth in the morning, volunteering at the emergency shelter once a month is simply what I do.

When I read the post printed below, I was reminded of how I felt the first time I ever served at a homeless shelter. It was in 1983 in a church basement in Humboldt Park. I remember coming home full of emotion. The article below reminded me of why I got motivated to do this in the first place. I hope it is as motivating for you as it was for me.

"With winter storm approaching, Akron woman hangs clothes for homeless with note 'You are loved'

by John Harper, Northeast Ohio Media Group, February 2, 2015

AKRON, Ohio -- If you were walking around downtown Akron Sunday afternoon, as the snow storm set in, you may have seen scarves, hats, socks and long underwear hanging from trees and railings.

They weren't left there by accident. Knowing that homeless lives were in danger with negative wind-chill temperatures and about a foot of snow forecast, Erin Victor spent the weekend collecting the clothing, sorting it and hanging it out. She left this note on each item: "I AM NOT LOST. If you need this to keep warm please take it. Be safe and know that you are loved."

Victor hadn't spent much time around homeless people until last Wednesday, when she volunteered at St. Bernard's Church to serve a free lunch in downtown Akron. She expected the volunteering gig would leave her fulfilled, instead it left her feeling empty.

"I saw tons of kids there that. They all wanted socks," Victor said. "I remember watching one guy in the corner, just trying to get his feet warm. It left me so sad." The rest of what happened was more or less impromptu. She posted about the lunch experience on Facebook.  "I feel guilty for having so many coats... and closets full of clothing I don't even wear," Victor wrote. "I'll be getting warm clothes together so if anyone has any sweaters, coats, hats, gloves and boots please let me know!"

She made a Facebook page for the event, called "BE A SNOW ANGEL". A friend, Julie Farris, helped set up a donation site at Annabell's Bar on West Market Street.  On Saturday the bags piled up as strangers stopped by. They filled a corner of the bar, and later the entire front hallway in her house.  Hats, scarves, long johns and socks, lots of socks.  Victor got the idea for her heartfelt note from a project she heard about in Winnipeg, Canada.

On Sunday the hugs came. Victor and Farris, helped by Kaley Foster, Larvell Fellows and Lashawrida Fellows, drove three carloads of clothing to pass out.  After hanging the clothing around town, they went to Haven of Rest, a shelter for homeless men and women. Full on winter nights, the shelter must send dozens of men and women back out onto the freezing streets.

"I was shocked to find out it was full, these people had nowhere to go," Victor said. When she knocked on the door the woman who answered warned that she might be mobbed. Victor said no, we have plenty.

First the women, then the men. Everyone got a pack of free socks. Victor helped one blind man find a hat that fit his head.  Another man kept asking for her phone number. She didn't mind, she dug through a bag and pulled him out a pair of long johns.  "He's my new favorite," she said. 

By Monday her Snow Angels Akron page had over 3,000 views. "We're going to do this again," Victor said. She's aiming for next Saturday.