- Video shows a mother shopping for a coat. Clothing and racks inside Heartland Hope Mission.
- Heartland Hope Mission address the urgent need of winter weather items, especially with the colder weather coming our way.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Jackets are important for everyone this winter, but especially over the next few days because of the bitter cold.
"It has been challenging to find a coat since everything is more expensive," Eli Meja said.
Eli sifts through coats for her one year old.
"I am looking for something very warm that is not so thin," Meja said. "There are some thin ones that aren't as warm."
This year looks different for Eli. The extreme weather is only making things worse for her family.
We do have a one-person earning in the household, so it's been challenging. It's getting colder and kids grow out of things really fast," she said.
And it's not just Eli struggling. The coat racks at Heartland Hope Mission are almost empty.
"Unfortunately, it has been low. But not severely like it is this winter season," Diana Bahn, operations manager at Heartland Hope Mission said.
The need is so great. People are claiming coats as soon as they arrive.
"The amount of coats we have is shocking because we can't keep them on the shelves," Bahn said. "The minute they go on, they fly right off. That's because people right now cannot afford to buy new coats."
For eli, all she wants to do is find a coat to keep her child warm.
"It doesn't say a size. There you go, 14," Meja said.
Thankful that today, she found one.
And you can help share the warmth so no one goes cold this winter. Drop off coats, hats, gloves, mittens and even blankets at godfather locations in neighborhoods in Omaha, Bellevue, Fremont and Council Bluffs through the first week of February.
Items can be new or even gently used.
