Organizations band together to “Spread the Warmth” to the homeless

Jonesboro, Arkansas – On February 4, a number of groups joined forces to “Spread the Warmth.”

The Arkansas Division of Community Correction Outreach Program organized the event.

The organization’s Lieutenant Jonathan Lanes claimed that a similar event in Pulaski County served as its model. He stated that was something he and others wished to bring to Northeast Arkansas.

“Some of the homeless have lost families and this is all they can turn to into the streets, they don’t have homes to live in,” he said.

Toiletries, hygiene supplies, and warm clothing were distributed as necessities. The goal, according to the organizers, was to let the neighborhood’s homeless individuals know they weren’t forgotten.

“We care about them and that we show that they, we see they have a need of needing warm clothing and needing food in their stomach and we want to provide that to them,” he said.

Volunteering at the occasion was Melinda Sapp, who was once homeless. She was there to support the neighborhood she formerly belonged to today.

“A couple of years back, I didn’t have anywhere to go, and I know what it’s like to live on the streets and not have anything and being out in the cold,” she said.

Sapp expressed her wish that similar occasions existed when she was a homeless person.

The event’s organizers expressed their satisfaction with both the attendance and volunteer turnout. They also hoped that the volunteers would be motivated to lend a hand on other occasions. “They are eager to help, and they are willing to lend a helping hand and they see the need that people need out in the shelters,” Lanes said.