DENVER (Mennonite Mission Network) – DEO (Discipleship, Encounter, Outreach) participant Kim Driedger of Leamington (Ontario) United Mennonite Church sorts clothes at The Gathering Place, Denver’s only day shelter for homeless women and children. Several times each month, women are invited to help themselves to donated clothing.
With the typical decrease in donations following the holidays, The Gathering Place has been short on warm clothes like boots, hats and scarves. Lucia Ishikawa, volunteer resources manager, said Denver’s exceptionally snowy weather this winter has been extra difficult for the 300 clients they serve.
“Many bus stops and sidewalks were not shoveled, so people fell and had to walk longer distances with bags and little kids,” she said. The day shelter had to close for several days due to the blizzards and transportation problems kept many women from coming to receive meals, do laundry or shower and find support from friends.
On the positive side, the cold weather prompted more women to sign up for knitting classes, which Ishikawa reports are so popular that they are also low on knitting needles and yarn.
DEO is a partner program of Mennonite Mission Network that provides opportunities for young adults to grow spiritually while living in community and serving in an urban context. Serving with Driedger in Denver this year are Mary Goering of First Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan., and Jessica Penner of Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church, Harper, Kan.
