We joined a night shift at Samusocial de Paris. Their mobile assistance teams – made up of a social worker, a nurse, and a driver – go out day and night to meet homeless people on the streets throughout Paris.
How Dennis’ Sheltersuit was part of his journey towards housing in Rotterdam. He was sitting outside on a bench, when Bob first offered him a Sheltersuit. Six months later, we are invited for Dennis’ housewarming.
We’d like to introduce you to some of the people we’ve had to pleasure of meeting this winter when we were in Los Angeles with 530 Shelterbags from our social factory in Cape Town.
530 Shelterbags for Los Angeles: If you’re unhoused in L.A. you’re constantly going around, trying to find your next meal, trying to find a safe area to sleep. Waitlists can be over 100 people, just to get into a night shelter. There’s a lot of services, but not enough beds, not enough of anything.
In collaboration with Chloé, a total of 550 jackets and 550 backpacks were produced by our amazing team in our social factory in Enschede. Each item is unique and made by hand using up-cycled materials.
During his fashion studies, Bas received news that shocked him. His friends’ father died while he was sleeping outside. He died of hypothermia on a night when it was 8ºC. Today, Sheltersuit is a place where people passionately work together to prevent this.
Sheltersuit exists to help ease the symptoms of people experiencing homelessness. By listening to the people that are using our products, we determine the need and evaluate the results. Then, we do our best to convert that input into practice and incorporate it into the production process.
In August, the first Shelterbags with sleeping mats donated by Auping were distributed in the Netherlands in the cities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden. Working together with various relief organizations, we can be sure that the Shelterbags are distributed with care to people who are forced to spend the night outside.
William has survived without shelter for over twenty years following a family tragedy. Having recently lost his tent and belongings due to a council ‘clean up’, he now has to start again from nothing.
The radio is on, sewing machines are rattling, cheerful voices sound from all over. Anyone entering Sheltersuit Foundation’s workshop in Enschede will agree: this is a place where people work together with pleasure and dedication.
The past winter we worked closely with Part of the Solution (POTS); a community center in the Bronx, New York to protect their unsheltered members through freezing and sub-freezing nights on the streets. “Sheltersuit offers a tangible way for us to connect with our unsheltered friends on the street,” says Noelani, Head of Distribution at Sheltersuit USA, “But how do we get it to the people that need it?”
Inge and her husband Björn were evicted after the unexpected death of their foster father and mentor. The couple, former sailors, are adventurous and strong. But after almost 3 years of illegal camping, with the fines to prove it, they long for a roof over their heads.
Major winter storms have led to flooding and power outages across Cape Town. The heavy rainfall creates hazardous situations for Cape Town’s unsheltered community, who risk being caught by flash floods. These extreme weather conditions pose a great danger to Cape Town’s vulnerable unsheltered.
Known as a compassionate and kind man with a love of nature, Jerald believes in living in peace and being understanding of each other. On his own, Jerald was an easy target to gangsters who would attack him. Forming friendships on the streets has been a critical survival tool as they each take care of one another.
Shane lives under the bridge with his unsheltered friends in Cape Town. When he was 17, Shane left school to work and support his family. His tough childhood led him to hang out with the wrong people and he ended up in prison. When he came out, he decided to live a different life on the street.
Moumin Albibi (25) started volunteering for Sheltersuit six years ago. Now he is one of our full-time employees. ‘Logistics employee,’ Moumin says with a laugh. ‘I arrange everything here at the studio.’ Moumin was born in Damascus, in Syria. ‘When I was eight years old, my father had a clothing factory. Growing up, I wanted […]
“Here we are like a family. We’re working very close and understand each other. It has made my life better, it even made me a better person. I can now make a difference in someone’s life and this job has opened my eyes to help and give a hand to those in need.”
“I’m so used to being invisible. People pass by me. I’m 6 foot tall! In American culture that’s pretty large! There were actually people that say: ‘oh I didn’t see you.” – Lotus, NY
Meet Alexandre. For the past four years, Alexandre has been homeless on the streets of Paris. For a while, he found safety and security in a social housing estate, but after the building was sold, he had nowhere else to turn.
After her life in Montana took an unexpected turn, Sandra evolved into a seasoned survivor on the streets of New York. “The hardest part of being homeless is exhaustion. I call sleep ‘the gift of sleep’ because it’s so hard to get.” – Sandra
Berlin is facing one of the coldest winters in years – with temperatures falling below freezing. This winter, the Sheltersuit Foundation teamed up with Arztmobil (a mobile doctor’s van initiative), a programme organised by Caritas, to provide Sheltersuits to Berlin’s most vulnerable individuals.
Panhandling at an intersection, we met Brian, a 36 year-old army veteran who served his country for 10 years and had three combat tours; two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. A native of Dallas, Texas, Brian has been living on the streets in Tucson for nearly 5 years.
Parked in the neighborhood of Miracle Mile, Los Angeles is Eva. Eva, a Hungarian born in 1950, has travelled across the United States eight times in her car, which she now sleeps in at night. It is her home.
Here at Sheltersuit, we have the privilege to work with other non-profits dedicated to protecting our unsheltered friends across the world. We joined the Phoenix-based organization Cloud Covered Streets for one of their street missions, providing showers, haircuts, laundry, and potential employment to individuals experiencing homelessness. “I’ve had the most positive weeks when I came […]
