1st Annual Move For Warmth Coat Drive

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More than 138,575 people in the Chicagoland area are homeless based on an August 2014 study from the Chicago Coalition for Homeless. This number is up over 19.4% from last years number. Of those that are homeless in the local suburban area a large percentage of those are what Bridge Communities calls the “invisible” homeless person.

Bridge Communities describes the invisible homeless person on their website with an eye-opening definition:

For many Americans, the word “homeless” evokes a mental image of a single male with some type of substance abuse or mental healthy problem loitering in a public place. This is the image of the vissible homeless. In reality, the picture of homeless. In reality, the picture of homelessness in America today is a family portait. BridgeCommunities serves the homeless family- the “invisible” homeless. Typically, this is a single parent with kids in school that are bouncing from home-to-home of family and friends.

This year we were able to collect 507 coats for local people who need them. Thanks to everyone who has been involved and who donated coats!