Somerset Nursing and Rehab residents make scarves to help the homeless

Keegan Harris, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·2 min read

Apr. 6—Ain't nothing like a scarf to keep you warm out in the cold, and the talented residents at Somerset Nursing and Rehab knew they had to help the homeless during the colder months.

Juanita Hampton is from Somerset. She's been crocheting since she was in her 20's when her mother taught her the basics. As she's gotten older she's continued to learn and is now able to spin quite the yarn.

Hampton said she and her friends along with Activities Director at Somerset Nursing and Rehab Natalie Underwood thought making some scarves would be an excellent thing to do to help the community and donated their creations to New Life Church's Warming Center.

"We first thought of just taking them and tying them on trees," said Hampton. "But we was afraid they would get wet and all messed up, so then we decided to give them to a place that knew people that really needed something warm."

The crocheting group had humble beginnings, and was started when Hampton taught Underwood how to crochet. They worked to start the crocheting group and, on top of this project, also knitted caps for the newborns at the hospital.

The crochet group is having a bit of reunion, in a sense. Due to the COVID pandemic which particularly impacted the elderly, the group members had to isolate themselves. Back together again, the group is now having a ball.

The team worked on the scarves for a few months. All in all, they made around 40 to 50 scarves.

Underwood was happy to be a part of the process and feels she's helping the older folks preserve a skill that's been lost as time's marched forward.

Said Underwood, "Any of those old arts, they're kind of dwindling. I've seen more of an increase, as weird as TikTok is and how it's become such a phenomenon during of COVID, I'm on there and I see more and more TikTok videos of people focusing on crochet, and it's young people. So I think it's maybe growing again, and that's why I'm happy and proud to tell people 'I've learned this from an older generation.'"