Creating sleeping mats for homeless

CRESCO - Volunteers at area churches are working together to create sleeping mats for the homeless using grocery bags.

Linda Thompson of Cresco, who serves as pastor at Burr Oak United Methodist Church, credits the origins of the volunteer project to LuAnne Becker, who researched project possibilities for a group of between 20-25 volunteers who had worked together for years in Northeast Iowa. 

The volunteers include members of Calmar United Methodist Church, its sister parish in Burr Oak, and other area church groups.

“LuAnne is an artist, creator and humanitarian,” Thompson said. “I have a more engineering and tactile part of her desire to make a difference in the world, one mat at a time.”

Thompson describes how Becker discovered the sleeping mat project:

“LuAnne's creative process comes from the question, ‘What do we do next?’ After the BackPack Program went to packing and distribution out of Waterloo, we had about 25 volunteers still wanting to gather as a cohesive group, with nothing to gather for. It took almost two years to come to this creative idea.”

She continued, “Part of her heart was for the American veterans who come back from service broken, for whatever reason, and become homeless. Another part was the environmental issue of so many grocery bags going into landfills. She had heard of mats being made in other parts of the country for the homeless. A Google search found a woman in Canada who created a loom and was weaving the mats from milk bags. There are people around who create mats by crocheting, but that is a singular process (aside from the cutting and looping the bags together). She wanted something that would utilize nearly 25 people at any given time.

“She spoke to Jim Satterfield, a gentleman in our Calmar Church, drew up the plans and between them, the first loom was made. By the time it was evident we would need a second loom, modifications were made to keep the end product more rectangular, as opposed to an hour glass. Two more cross boards were added with nails to help hold the stringers straight, but the biggest asset has been steel rods along each side. That changed everything. Our product is much more consistent now.”

 Approximately 1,000 grocery bags are needed to create one mat. Thompson said Burr Oak United Methodist Church is using pieces of plastic bags to create pillows, which are hooked onto the mats. The mats may be rolled up and carried.

Since the Northeast Iowa volunteers have worked on the sleeping mat project together, the process is being refined.

“With the many visitors that come to join in with the weaving, cutting, and chaining, different knowledge has been added to the process,” Thompson said. “To date, we have two looms and are able to use six weavers per loom, which speeds up the creation.”

She also acknowledges two Cresco entities for contributing to the project:

“Thanks to a donation by Fenco Welding Supply in Cresco, we were able to keep the mats more rectangular and tighter,” Thompson said. “The group felt that twice a month meetings were not enough and are meeting weekly to get as many mats out as possible.”

Thompson said she and Becker have reached out to law enforcement officials in the area to offer the sleeping mats to serve the homeless.

“Howard County Sheriff’s Department will have two sleeping mats on hand at all times. Sometimes, we do not realize that there are homeless in our small towns, as well as the more metropolitan areas,” Thompson said.

For those who are interested in donating grocery bags to the sleeping mat project, Thompson said, “We can always take plastic bags. It takes about 1,000 to make a mat. People can bring them to my house at 314 2nd St. East, Cresco. Please make sure they are not torn or dirty. It is important to note that the County Store and the Store Next Door can always use the bags, as well.”

For more information about the sleeping mat project, contact Burr Oak Methodist Church at: (563) 735-5445 or Calmar United Methodist Church at: (563) 562-3033.