TOLEDO, Ohio — With the weather warming up, a local nonprofit organization is asking the community for backpacks and other items needed to help the unhoused get through the summer.
The organization, 419 Cares, is a group of around 30 to 40 people in the community who get together every Sunday to serve food and house insecure people.
According to 419 Cares, they passed out items to about 200 people this past Sunday but despite the large number of people they were able to help, they are still in need of more items.
They said they're specifically in need of durable backpacks to give to the unhoused to help them move around more easily in the heat.
One of the members of the organization, Dave Berghian, said in addition to backpacks, they need other necessities to protect them from the sun due to the long distances they walk which is usually around 10 miles a day.
"A person who is on the street, they do a lot of walking and obviously they don't have a lot of resources and everything," Berghian said. "They don't own a lot of things, everything they have is on their back."
They also need sunscreen, protein bars, men's boxer briefs, women's sports bras and walking shoes.
"I had a lady yesterday, I thought maybe she had fallen, but no her face was just blistered from being out in the sun," Berghian said. "We're relatively early in the summer here so that's kind of a warning sign there."
To learn more about how you can help out, visit their Facebook at this link.