The Empowerment Plan Providing Employment and Self-Respect for the Homeless in the City of Detroit

By Almas Akhtar, TMO

Veronika Scott is a student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit who lives with her grandparents in Huntington Woods, MI. She was always horrified to see homeless people sleeping on the ground in the city of Detroit during bitter cold months. They barely had blankets or woolen throws to keep themselves warm.Veronika thought” how can I help them?” She collected $2,000 and bought supplies and stiched a water resistent, self heated coat which could transform into a sleeping bag at night.

She later got help in acquiring Industrial Sewing Machines and supplies to stich these coats and thus launched the “Empowerment Plan”.

Empowerment Plan is a Humantarian Cause in which homeless women  from Detroit were hired as seamstresses to stich such coats, on a reasonable salary, in a warehouse in Detroit where Ms. Scott installed all the Industrial Sewing Machines and supplies. After completion, these coats are donated to the homeless free of charge. There are over 32,000 homeless people in Detroit. These people don’t have a house to live in, travel long distances to sleep in crowded shelter houses; these coats can serve as their shelter.

The “Element S Coat” is made up of Tyvek and Wool and is quite easy to sew.

Veronika Scott wants to expand her remarakable project globally to provide sleeping bag coats for those who need them all over the world.

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