Softer Streets

Thanks to your generosity, our inflatable mats (as well as sleeping bags, pillows and socks) have been distributed through AFAD, the Turkish equivalent of FEMA. We did this in tandem with Turkish Airlines, Klymit and the Turkish American Cultural Society of Colorado (TACSCO) We are so incredibly grateful for the support YOU all provided to make our biggest international distribution effort possible.

SOFTER STREETS AND KLYMIT ANNOUNCE $250,000+ IN SUPPLIES TO EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS

We should be used to amazing us by now, but this is over the top even for them. We are proud to be part of this lifesaving mission, humbled by Klymit’s faith in us, and as usual overwhelmed by the generosity of you, our donors. Details below on the many essential items on the way to those left homeless by this disaster.

We are also hard at work on finding avenues directly into Syria. Stay tuned for more news on that front. Will you donate $15 or more to ensure that even these nearly unreachable victims get critical aid? Please give or share through our existing fundraiser posted below, or at SofterStreets.org.

Many thanks to the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation in Marietta GA for funding 26 sleeping mats and a bunch of giant warmers, and to The Way church of Woodstock GA for opening their hall as a warning center for unsheltered people. We arrived with our delivery just as they ran out of sleeping mats that had been borrowed from another church. Not only do their guests have a comfortable mat to sleep on tonight, but they get to take them with them tomorrow. I love the sign as parishioners leave the church’s parking lot.
PS shout out to Denver CO, where we only found 2 unsheltered people despite hours of looking, because they opened a bunch of warming centers and even the stadium. Atlanta, please take note.

More than a little humbled that L.V. offered me a few dollars when I told him my purse had been stolen so I couldn’t give him any. Most people are so great. LV told me he can’t sleep in a tent due to claustrophobia from PTSD, so “the first thing I do every morning is start looking for cardboard to sleep on that night.” Now he won’t have to anymore. LV introduced me to several of his friends, who now also have our sleeping mats. “People donate a lot of things,” he said, “but these? NOBODY gives us these.” They do now, LV. We parted ways as he took orders for food he was going to buy his friends with his day’s panhandling earnings. May we all be so generous this holiday season. If you’d like to join us, $15 helps one person who is unsheltered for any reason. Www.softerstreets.org

Anyone. Anywhere. Unsheltered for any reason. This we are helping more people sleep a little easier, in more places than ever. Our sleeping pads are portable, water-resistant, ergonomic and provide crucial insulation when sleeping on cold, hard, and/or wet surfaces. From Utah to Ukraine, Georgia to… well, the other Georgia, we are helping prevent permanent injuries so people can get back on their feet. You can help one person for just $15. Donate here: https://softerstreets.org/donate/