Fall Is Coming! We Need More Than PSL
The mornings are starting to feel different. The heat that hung over our service days all summer is easing, and by the time our doors open at 8am, there's a real chill in the air before the sun burns it off. For most of us, that just means pulling a jacket out of the closet. For our guests, it means something much bigger is about to change.
When the weather turns, everything about surviving outside gets harder. A summer night without enough blankets is uncomfortable. A fall or winter night without enough blankets can be dangerous. Layers that felt optional in July become essential in October. And for someone who owns only what they can carry, staying warm is not as simple as turning up a thermostat.
We start to see it in small ways first. A guest asking if we have an extra sweatshirt in their size. Someone hesitating a little longer under a warm shower because it might be the only warmth they feel all day. Requests for socks and shoes start to outpace requests for anything else, because dry feet matter more than people realize when you're on your feet, outside, day after day.
This is also when we start prepping behind the scenes. Sorting through clothing donations with cooler weather in mind. Making sure our hygiene bags include things guests will actually need as temperatures drop. Thinking through how our setup, the pop-up canopies, the shower lines, the outdoor space, holds up once the mornings turn cold and the afternoons turn short.
None of it happens without the community around us. Every coat we hand out, every blanket a guest takes home, every warm layer that makes a guest's night a little safer, comes from someone who decided their closet held something someone else needed more.
Here's how you can help us get ready:
Coats and jackets — all sizes, especially larger sizes and men's, which go the fastest
Blankets — clean, gently used or new, any size
Warm layers — sweatshirts, sweaters, thermal shirts (we already have lots of socks)
Gloves and beanies — small items that make a big difference on a cold morning
You can drop off donations at our shower location at 403 W. 6th Street, Antioch in the back parking lot on Tuesdays and Thursdays - 8am-12pm. If you'd rather help in another way, a monetary donation goes directly toward stocking what we can't get through donations alone. Our Amazon Wishlist is an other option.
As the weather changes, so does what our guests need from us, and from you. Help us make sure no one on our lot this fall has to choose between staying dry and staying warm.
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