1/4 A former homeless person gives his opinion on the ‘super sleeping bag’
“Wow, that thing is already really hot,” puffs Kitty Verbunt from the homeless shelter in Breda. She tests the first of thirty Sheltersuits that were donated on Tuesday evening. These are special sleeping bags that allow you to sleep outside in winter. “When I was still living on the street in Roosendaal, I would have liked to have one of those. I usually slept in my car, but it was also quite cold at night.” As an expert by experience, Kitty can now help decide which 30 homeless people will receive such a sleeping bag.
The Sheltersuits are actually a combination of a tent, a sleeping bag and a jacket. The thick tent fabric on the outside is wind and waterproof. And there is a thick cotton lining on the inside. The bottom of the super sleeping bag can be zipped off, so you can wear it as a thick winter coat.
Kitty has been off drugs for years now and is now the proud mother of twins. “But if I had had such a sleeping bag at the time, it would have saved me a lot of gasoline. Then I wouldn’t have had to run the engine to let the heater warm me.” She already has some homeless people on the street in mind who will be happy with such a Sheltersuit.
“I think it’s really cool!”
In restaurant De Fazant in Ulvenhout, the sleeping bags were handed over by the Lions Club Breda to the homeless organizations SMO and Stichting De Herberg. They have saved together the necessary 9,000 euros. “Especially now, for the coming cold period, it is important that these people have a suit that can help you get through the cold nights,” explains Willem van Dijk of the Lions Club.
It is unclear how many homeless people are wandering the streets in the Breda region. According to SMO, the Social Shelter Foundation, there are dozens who are registered in the shelter. But there are probably hundreds, because many fly under the radar. Because they don’t want help. Or ‘hop’ from one sofa to another sofa with friends or acquaintances to get out of the cold at night.
Meanwhile, Kitty tries out the Sheltersuit for the first time in a parking lot outside the shelter. “I think it’s really cool! It’s also quite a heavy thing.” The sleeping bag is equipped with robust zippers and Velcro to keep the cold out. “This is an excellent solution for our boys and girls on the street. Because not everyone can handle the crowds in the shelter. They consciously choose to stay outside at night. And they can spend the cold night here very well,” thinks Kitty .
“The number of homeless people is increasing and they are having an increasingly difficult time outside.”
The suits are made in Enschede in our own sheltered workshop. And they go all over the world to people without a roof over their heads. Also, for example, to Ukraine. The jacket is made of breathable tent fabric. The inner lining is made from leftover sleeping bags and a large hood shields the face from rain and bright street lights.
The Lions Club chooses a different charity to sponsor every year. Bert Tuinsma of the service club: “The number of homeless people is increasing and they are finding it increasingly difficult outside. So we thought this would be a great cause to support. We hope it will help make sleeping outside at night a little more comfortable.”
