From hot cocoa to coats, organizations in Columbus and Starkville are rolling out initiatives aimed at keeping those in need warm this winter.
Starting Monday, Columbus Police Department will offer free hot chocolate and a warm place to go to anyone looking to escape the cold as a part of its Cups for Comfort campaign.
The campaign is an effort to remind the homeless population in Columbus that they are not forgotten, a CPD press release said.
“They can come in for a little while, drink as much chocolate as they want to drink, sit in a warm place, use the bathroom if they need to (and) … at least charge their phone,” Community Liaison Glenda Richardson told The Dispatch on Friday. “We just want to be a help. The police department is not just about arresting bad guys, but also providing a safe place for citizens as well.”
Richardson said the department plans to connect people stopping in with local resources they may need to get through the season, whether that’s simply a coat or a fresh, hot meal.
“Whatever resources that we can share with them, we want to be able to do that because sometimes they just don’t know where to go,” she said.
Susan Garton, president of the Golden Triangle Homeless Coalition, said there will be a box available at the department where those visiting can leave their contact information. Someone from the homeless coalition will pick it up the same day and call to do an assessment of their needs, she said.
The department held a similar campaign in the summer called Hydration for Humanity, where CPD provided 32-ounce tumblers to partnering businesses to hand out to anyone stuck in the summer heat. The hope is to replicate that effort during the winter.
Businesses partnering with CPD will have a sign inviting the homeless to “come in for a cup of comfort,” Richardson said. It’s just an easy way for businesses and individuals to help others during the holiday season, she said.
“It doesn’t cost a whole lot to buy a box of cocoa to help a homeless person,” she said. “… Let’s just try to help take care of people as best as we can. This is the season of giving, and we need to give as much as we can, especially those that have to give.”
Anyone interested in getting involved can drop off cocoa and cups at the police station, Richardson said.
Warm clothes for the cold
Across the region, Starkville Strong is making warm clothing more accessible by putting winter wear bins outside partnering businesses, Executive Director Brandi Herrington told The Dispatch.
“We have these bins that stay out in these cold months where anybody can put items in and anybody can take items out,” she said. “Most days it fills and empties and fills and empties multiple times.”
There are currently bins already set up outside of the Starkville Public Library and Dunkington, where people can leave or take winter essentials like coats, scarves and socks. But if more businesses will participate, it could expand the impact, Herrington said.
“We’d love for anybody who feels led to give back to the community in that way (to participate),” she said. “I can send them the document that says the instructions and what to do. We don’t own the rights to the winter wear bin. It’s just our way of making it easy for people to access these things around town.”
Herrington said Starkville Strong is also collecting items like blankets, scarves, gloves, heaters and hand warmers to distribute throughout the winter.
“We are doing little gift bags for some of our elderly and our shut-ins who can’t get out (and) some of our clients who are on disability,” she said. “We check on them and see the sort of things that they need and try to assemble a little winter-care bag for them, so that they have access to that more easily.”
Herrington said both of the two initiatives will continue until the weather warms up. She invited community members to help in whatever way they can.
“Starkville Strong doesn’t get federal funding for helping with the homeless population, so we have to be creative and crowdsource,” she said. “So that’s sort of our (goal), to bring the community in on what the need is and then facilitate a way for everybody to do what they can in whatever way that looks like for them.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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