OGDEN, Utah — The winter months are always concerning when it comes to temperatures dropping and members of Utah's homeless community.
"Unfortunately, the visible homelessness is increasing in Weber County. We are seeing individuals coming into shelter and on the streets that are brand new to homeless, never been homeless before," said Lauren Navidomskis, the executive director of the Lantern House in Ogden. “We often see a higher numbers of shelter occupancy during the winter time as people that maybe were once sleeping out of the streets or coming to the shelter because of the harsh elements.”
Navidomskis says the Lantern House has an occupancy of roughly 330 beds. She said 230 are occupied as of Monday.
“Unfortunately, people are falling into situations faster than we can find solutions," said Navidomskis.
Solutions may be hard to come by, but donations are still needed to ease the burden. Recently, Paula Willden donated sleeping bags to the Lantern House and learned that they need gloves and hand warmers right now.
“As soon as they said gloves, I thought, 'Oh, my heart has melted,'" said Willden, who has been dealing with Reynaud's Syndrome for the last 25 years. It's a common condition where blood flow to extremities like hands and toes decreases. “If I didn’t have gloves, I would be in a world of hurt."
Willden has been encouraging family and friends to donate to what she is calling "Project Warming Hands." She'll use the monetary or in-kind donations to contribute hand warmers and gloves to the Lantern House. Donors can send money to her via Venmo at username "@Paula-HewardWillden" or at the code below.
“You hear people need coats all the time, you hear they need boots all the time, but I don’t think people realize you need gloves all the time," said Willden. “Everybody has gloves that they don’t use; We should be giving them to people who really need them.”
The Lantern House also needs socks, gloves and boots. They're also asking for canned fruits and vegetables, toilet paper and reusable water bottles, as well as various additional seasonal needs. Information on how to donate online or in-person can be found here.
