Tucson Officials, Local Nonprofits Hosting Blanket And Coat Drive

Lindsay Walker
·2 min read

TUCSON, AZ — Tucson officials and a collection of local nonprofits committed to ending homelessness have joined forces to host a coat and blanket drive in December.

The City of Tucson's Housing and Community Development Department has teamed up with the Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness to collect clean, gently used or new, coats and blankets to hand out to Tucson's homeless population. Their goal is to have 5,000 items donated this month.

“More than 1,300 Tucson area residents are homeless and sleeping outside or in crisis shelters each night,” Liz Morales, the City of Tucson's director of Housing and Community Development, said in a statement. “Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for winter coats and blankets this winter will be greater than ever before.”

The Tucson Pima Collaboration typically receives approximately 10,000 free emergency blankets from the U.S. Department of Defense for distribution to people sleeping outside in the Tucson area. The federal program has been delayed due to the pandemic and is still awaiting funding from Congress.

The National Weather Service in Tucson said that temperatures this week could reach as low as 40 degrees at night.

“Cold weather is already upon us and there is no word as to when the federal blanket program will make its way to Tucson this year,” Daniela Figueroa, who chairs the homeless coalition and works at Youth On Their Own, a local nonprofit that supports teens experiencing homelessness, said. "We're relying on the Tucson community to rise to this challenge with us and provide important necessities for people experiencing homelessness in our community.”

Donations can be dropped off at the following locations:

  • Primavera Foundation (811 S. Sixth Avenue): Open every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

  • Salvation Army Hospitality House (1002 N. Main Avenue): Open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

  • Naughton’s Air Conditioning, Cooling, & Plumbing (6062 E. Speedway Boulevard): Open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Monetary donations can also be made online.

This article originally appeared on the Tucson Patch