(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Some homeless people in Chicago are a little better prepared for the upcoming cold weather, thanks to a Detroit charity distributing winter coats that double as sleeping bags.
Ali Simmons with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless was helping hand out the coats to people living in tents in Touhy Park.
He says the popular coats were also given out at encampments in Humboldt Park and the South Loop.
The non-profit Empowerment Plan makes the coats to be water-resistant and able to withstand sub zero temperatures.
Human Resources Director Coy Mosley says the mission is even bigger than keeping people warm; it’s keeping them employed, too.
Part of the mission is to hire homeless people to make the coats, Mosley said.
Before today’s World Homeless Day event in Chicago and nine other cities in the U.S., Empowerment Plan has given out 65,000 coats in the past decade.
Coincidentally, that’s the estimate of how many people are homeless in Chicago.
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