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Cold snap causes surge in need for warm clothing

Oct 6, 2017 | 11:30 AM

LETHBRIDGE – A sudden winter storm and early cold snap meant the Streets Alive mission was busier than usual this week.

“It was a pretty significant surprise,” Marie McLennan, associate director of philanthrophy, told Lethbridge News Now, “because we still had fairly temperate weather heading into this, and to have something hit that hard, especially over a weekend, can be really really difficult for our clients.”

McLennan explained that it’s early to be handing out cold weather clothing, which likely won’t be returned when it warms up again. And that could leave them short when winter returns for good.

She added donations of warm clothing — not necessarily winter wear, but denim jackets or hoodies — would be a huge help right now

“We all go to our closet and we kind of have a range of jackets that we can pull from depending on the weather, and that we can layer up. And that’s sort of what we need right now as well, to have those kind of layering capabilities,” McLennan said.

The mission is getting ready to welcome clients to a special Thanksgiving dinner Sunday. McLennan is grateful to the staff of Immanuel Christian Schools for stepping up to host the meal.

“Whether you live in a house or whether you’re living on the street, or whether you’re dealing with poverty, or you’re affluent, Thanksgiving is still Thanksgiving. Christmas is still Christmas,” she said.

She added the community served by Streets Alive can celebrate the holiday together, and that’s “vitally important.”