A simple act of kindness warms the heart of those struggling on Bradenton’s streets

If you’ve taken an old winter coat out of your closet to donate it to the annual “One Warm Coat” giveaway, your simple act of kindness is probably touching hearts in a way you couldn’t imagine.

A couple of hundred men, women and children lined up at Turning Points on a cool Saturday morning for a chance to own what for many of them was the first nice coat with accessories that they’ve had in years.

“This is the warmest I’ve been since forever,” said Debra, who didn’t want to give her last name.

Debra has been homeless for three years. Her husband died four years ago and the finances dried up. She was eventually evicted. She spends most nights sleeping at the Salvation Army, but doesn’t always get a spot.

Debra slipped into what looked like a brand new gray wool coat and wrapped a knitted scarf around her neck — likely one of the 80 made by an 82-year-old volunteer who spends much of the year making the scarves for this event.

The coolness of Saturday morning melted away from Debra as she wrapped her arms around herself. She smiled proudly and then broke into tears.

“I’m working on my situation,” she said. “I work when I can and put every dollar toward some type of housing, but God will provide and I have to keep the faith.”

More seniors are becoming homeless

Betty Harrison, who is 69 years old, and pointed out the large number of senior citizens who are homeless like her. Like so many people, Harrison lived from paycheck to paycheck, but she had her own home. When the Great Recession hit in 2008, Harrison lost her job. A year later, she lost her home.

She’s been living on the streets ever since.

“This is a blessing,” she said. “It’s cold out here.”

Harrison, too, began to cry as she told her story and the difficulties of being on the street as an older woman. She said she’s aware of how other people look at her when she’s towing everything she owns to a doctor’s appointment because she doesn’t have anywhere safe to leave it.

“It’s embarrassing,” she said through her tears.

She also tries to get a spot at the Salvation Army’s shelter to spend her nights, but many of those spots are reserved for women enrolled in Salvation Army’s many programs. She isn’t always successful.

Many can find themselves homeless when tragedy strikes

Many people are just one tragedy away from potentially being homeless. That was the case for Cheri, who also declined to give her last name.

“My husband is fighting cancer,” she said. “He’s 6 foot 3 and has whittled down to 119 pounds. He’s always worked and right now he can’t and that’s hard on him, too. We always buy our grandson a new coat for Christmas every year. Now I’m here trying to get one for myself. All I have is this sweater. I’ve never needed anything like this before and it’s a blessing having something like this and the food bank that is keeping us alive.”

The winter clothes donated to Turning Points are saved up for the annual giveaway, but the majority of them this year were collected by local schools who did coat drives and particularly successful this year was Rowlett Academy. Champs, which has their headquarters based in Bradenton, also donated brand new clothing.

A simple act of kindness

“I hear from so many people that they want to help somehow, but don’t know what to do,” said Laura Licoski, founder of Home is where the Heart is and Facing Homelessness Bradenton. “This is something they can do that doesn’t cost them anything. It’s just pulling an old coat from the closet and you can see how much it means to these people.”

Not just any coat will do, though. Licoski, who has spearheaded the giveaway for the past four years, said some people will try to donate a jacket with a broken zipper or has holes in it and they ask her, “What’s the difference? The homeless aren’t going to care.”

But Licoski does.

“We do these types of things with dignity and respect,” she said. “We don’t do this event as a free-for-all and just throw a coat at them. We make it a shopping experience. We match them with what works best for them and then try to accessorize an entire outfit with a coat, hat, scarf and gloves.”

It’s an effective strategy. Many people who entered the giveaway walked into the event looking defeated with their eyes cast to the ground and shoulders slumped. But they walked away smiling, standing tall and feeling proud of the way they looked.

Ann Martin has seen her struggles in life as well, but she was wearing a bright smile on Saturday morning because she was there to volunteer. Martin stood out in the cold beginning at 6 a.m., making sure everyone was in the right line. There was a line for the men, a line for the women, and a line for the families.

“I love volunteering,” Martin said. “I love meeting people and spreading love to the people. They tell me how happy they are to have this opportunity. They tell me how much they really need it.”