SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When severe weather hits, it can be an especially trying time for the homeless population living outside in the elements. Loaves and Fishes, a Sacramento based nonprofit, is trying to keep people warm by providing essential items.
"It gets cold. You get stiff. You can hardly move your hands, you can hardly talk. Your clothes get wet which makes you three times colder," said Della Mullins who has been unhoused for 11 years.
For more than a decade, Mullins has braved the cold weather months living on the streets. She says it's been especially hard recently with the heavy rain and harsh winds. But, she credits Sacramento Loaves and Fishes for keeping people warm.
"For our guests to be unhoused and live in these elements it's very challenging on a day-to-day basis. There's no place for them to go. They live on the streets. They live on the river. They live on the sidewalks. Everything they own is personal to them, is in tow with them," said George Kohrummel, Director of Friendship Park at Sacramento Loaves and Fishes.
The campus currently serves anywhere from 300 to 500 people a day.
With the upcoming rain from back-to-back atmospheric rivers and more bad weather, they're making a call for urgent needs.
That includes: tarps, blankets, tents, shoes and sleeping bags.
"It's urgent because the weather makes it urgent right? So folks that are living outdoors, if you have a wet sleeping bag because it rained last night, well you can't take that, and folks have nowhere to dry it to use it again the next night. So we often kind of give blankets and sleeping bags when it's this wet," said Angela Hassel, Executive Director of Sacramento Loaves and Fishes.
With the majority of guests being elderly or disabled, the ask is an emotional one for Mullins.
"There's a lot of elderly people that are stuck out here without housing and they're having a hard time getting around. They don't have any help and the help that's there, a lot of people really don't want to get involved. Some people are losing their minds. They help, they need their medicine," said Mullins in tears.
You may not be able to see the impact firsthand when you donate something, but Loaves and Fishes says you're making a big difference — even if you just donate one item.
"A lot of people would probably die out here if it weren't for Loaves and Fishes. They help with everything," said Mullins.
People can donate at the Loaves and Fishes warehouse at 1351 North C St. in Sacramento. Amazon will also deliver if you would like to order something. Another way to donate is by visiting their website and making a monetary donation.
Keep in mind items don't have to be brand new, they can be gently used but they do have to be clean.
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