Seniors at Life After Fifty craft winter warmth for Windsor’s homeless

Local seniors have been knitting up a storm, creating hats, mittens, and scarves for those experiencing homelessness. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell has more.

A group of local seniors is lending their time and talent to help keep people warm this winter.

Members of Life After Fifty delivered handmade hats, mittens, scarves and blankets Wednesday morning to Windsor’s Homelessness and Housing Help Hub — known as H4.

Executive director Tom Wilson says the project helps older adults stay active and connected while making a difference in their community.

“Our members come here on a day-to-day basis, working hard, socializing,” Wilson said. “But it’s important to put a connection and value to what they do, because they still have value. We still need to have an impact in the community, regardless of what age we are.”

Volunteer Julie Nicholls says the group’s members took the challenge to heart - with some learning new skills just to contribute.

“Two or three people actually learned new skills in order to make this contribution,” she said. “We had a person learning to sew and someone else actually went on YouTube and learned to crochet. That’s important for seniors to grow and continue to learn, because it keeps us young.”

Fellow volunteers Angie Root and Barb Morris say they take pride in every stitch.

“I want to make them as well as I would make them if I was presenting them as a gift to somebody,” Morris exclaimed. “I feel they deserve the best as well as everybody else.”

“I love it,” Root added. “I’ve been here 11 years now, and I enjoy the company.”

At H4, program director Jordan Nguyen says the donation couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We run out of our winter accessories really quickly — from hats to scarves to gloves and mittens,” Nguyen said. “This donation comes at a really critical time for us.”

Nguyen says the centre is currently seeing about 270 visits a day, providing shelter, meals and support for people experiencing homelessness.

“With the winter months, there’s always a risk of hypothermia and frostbite,” Nguyen told CTV News. “Oftentimes they are spending long extended periods outdoors, traveling from shelter to shelter. Thankfully at H4 we’ve been able to consolidate a lot of our essential services in one location.”

Nguyen says community partnerships like this one help protect the city’s most vulnerable.

“We’re extremely grateful for this donation,” Nguyen added. “It really showcases the dedication and care from the community to show that we’re all in this together.”