Oh, yes. The refugees are obviously different than the regular homeless. I just wanted you to know that your items don't need to be new. I'm not trying to say we ought to give our junk away, but a worn out pair of shoes is better than no pair of shoes. I even looked at prices at Goodwill, a pair of jeans and pair of tennis shoes for a man will cost $15.00. I've gone to garage sales the last few weeks and found them for a dollar or two each.
Cindy -------------- Original message -------------- Thanks, Cindy. I understand the basic needs of the homeless with drug and other problems, but I'm visualizing that a lot of these women are homemakers, or had jobs down in New Orleans - and they will want to get back to some semblance of normalcy, so maybe some sorta dressier stuff will be useful for them. I guess I'll just take a box or two down, and see what the response is. Linda "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: Hi, Linda, Sounds like you are doing the right thing and are being very generous. We visited a homeless shelter this summer. This is what we learned about their clothing needs: Most of the homeless are men and they have drug, alcohol and mental problems (1/3 of them). They didn't have enough clothing. Newly donated items aren't washed unless they are very dirty. If the men can work, they get jobs as day laborers. They need clothing they can be comfortable in: jeans or khakis, underware, ball caps, socks and walking or tennis shoes. They get clean clothing once a week. So worn out clothing is better than no clothing. Take care, Cindy
