Ask Lemmy

27006 readers

1290 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

159

What is the best option to provide for people who are homeless in the cold? (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

46 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It's going to be very cold over the next few days in my area and I'd like to buy something for the people who are homeless, particularly ones who won't be in a shelter.

For budgeting, there is one shelter in my area for adults and one for children/teenagers. I don't know how many people would not have shelter but in the past, I have planned for 40 people when providing food for people in a shelter.

My budget is about $200 USD; what would be the most useful? thermal blankets? hot food?

Edit: thanks to all who responded. I called the shelter and the most needed items are (1) sleeping bags (2) very warm gloves to prevent frostbite (3) boots

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] -2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Anything that looks good enough to be sold, will be. Or the cops will consider it stolen and take it away. Might even arrest whoever's using it or just beat them.

Has to be old and ragged-looking, not draw attention. Functionality and ease of positioning are what matter. And it needs fuel. Whatever stuff they have lying around is used as clothing or for shelter. No fuel, no fire. Can't throw gas at them though, should be something solid yet useless for anything else other than burning it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

A rocket stove is wood-burning, and it'll look shabby and scorched after just a single use. It's very efficient, you could run it on twigs and fallen branches. I could easily imagine something like it being very handy for a group of homeless people camping in a park or other wooded area.

But as I said, I decided not to suggest it. They're pretty pricey and specialized.