Washington non-profit providing essential supplies to those in need
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Matt Uram of non-profit Serenity Farms Inc. helps to pack toiletries in bags with Angela Carrier, left, and Washington County Judge Traci McDonald-Kemp. The trio was packing bags Saturday in the Landmark Building in Washington to offer essential supplies to people who are entering rehabilitation or emergency shelters.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Bags were packed with shampoo, toothbrushes, soap, deodorant, socks and other essential items to help people entering rehabilitation or emergency shelters.
When people enter drug rehabilitation facilities or emergency shelters, sometimes what they need the most are everyday items others take for granted as they arrive for lengthy stays with little advanced notice.
To help those in need, nonprofit Serenity Farms Inc. organized a packing event Saturday at its Washington office to provide people with a variety of essentials that can be handed out as they arrive at the facilities.
Matt Uram of Serenity Farms, Washington County Judge Traci McDonald-Kemp and Angela Carrier spent about two hours packing bags and discussing why something so simple is also so powerful. The bags were packed with sanitary wipes, body wash, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks and even pens and notepads.
“These are tools for their recovery,” Uram said while packing the bags with supplies situated on a table. “It’s a little bit of comfort as they come through that door.”
The group planned to make 100 bags – 50 of them tailored to women and 50 bags filled with similar items for men – although there were additional supplies so there likely were even more than what the group was hoping to put together. They’ll eventually be distributed to various local agencies so they can be handed out to people entering drug rehabilitation centers or to women who are victims of domestic violence and need a safe place to stay.
Uram said those people “don’t have all the essentials” so the bags will help them as they work through the process.
“As these people go through their struggles, we’re all involved in their struggles,” Uram said. “They’re going to be comfortable and clean. … We take it for granted and they’re thankful for it.”
McDonald-Kemp, who oversees cases in family court, sometimes offers toys or care packages to children who come to her courtroom to make them feel more comfortable in an understandably uncomfortable situation. She likened that situation to the supplies she was packing for adults who find themselves in difficult circumstances.
“Any small creature comforts to make it more bearable,” McDonald-Kemp said. “One small gesture may change the whole scenario.”
Carrier, a financial advisor, helped to secure $2,000 from Foresters Insurance, which offers various grants to its customers looking to provide philanthropic opportunities in their communities.
“There’s a need,” Carrier said. “It’s the first time we’ve done it at this level.”