SAN DIEGO
About half of San Diego’s homeless population who are without shelter this month are receiving warm, water-proof coats that convert into sleeping bags in an effort to help make life on the street a bit less cruel.
The distribution of 2,200 coats is funded by the philanthropic Lucky Duck Foundation and Aqualia International Foundation, and it is among the largest ever conducted by the Detroit-based Empowerment Plan, which employees homeless parents to make the coats.
“A year or so ago we worked with another company that did 2,000 across different cities,” said Veronika Scott, founder and CEO of the nonprofit, during a Wednesday morning press conference in San Diego. “The need in San Diego is very high. Just seeing that need and being able to fill that is huge. I feel like we’re really making an impact.”