Care bag drive helps area homeless

New Eastside for Charity, the neighborhood organization dedicated to improving the lives of the area homeless population, distributed 66 care bags and 30 to 40 sleeping bags to people living in the area’s network of underground streets on January 21.

The care bags contained items for battling cold weather and providing nutrition.

“We filled them with underwear, undershirts, socks, long johns, hats, gloves, scarves, lip balms, water, crackers, protein bars and cookies,” says Sonia Koht, the New Eastside resident who cofounded the organization with her neighbors Ginger Menne and Sujata Dayal last January.

Most of the items were donated by 35 to 40 people, many of whom attended a corresponding happy-hour drive at The Chandler that was featured in the cover story of New Eastside News’ December issue.

“It was really mostly the community,” explains Koht, who hopes to expand not only the scope of the items donated but also the program in general for the organization’s subsequent summer and winter drives.

“Stay tuned for more details,” she says.

Assisting Koht in the physical distribution of the care bags were her son, Alexander, friend Jay Prenta, and Alexander Carlins, son of Magellan Development President David Carlins.

“It took us like four hours, from five in the evening until about nine something,” she says. “We waited until people who are on the street came back to their living area.”

During the process, the distributors got to know many of the inhabitants who live in tent colonies protected by the upper streets.

“It was really touching,” she remembers. “One guy said, ‘you know when I see this I really do believe in miracles.’”

www.facebook.com/NewEastsideforCharity

— Daniel Patton, Staff Writer