Knitters mend social fabric with hats for the homeless
Barb Melom never intended to start a knitting movement. But five years ago, when she asked her mother-in-law what she wanted for Christmas, the response was “to work in a homeless shelter on Christmas Eve.”
“I got to thinking, it would be nice to have a gift to hand out at the shelter,” said Melom, an avid knitter from Minneapolis. “I thought of a hat.”
About six weeks later, more than 300 freshly knit hats were stacked in the spare bedroom of her home, thanks to fast finger work by her and friends. It was the birth of Hats for the Homeless, which this year marks its fifth anniversary and 5,000th hat.
An informal network of a couple hundred knitters, it has captured the attention of like-minded colleagues across the county, who now also ship hats to Minnesota each year. That’s in addition to donations by local knitting circles, yarn shops, churches and other supporters who have woven an unusual niche in philanthropy.
“A lot of people like the idea of charity knitting,” Melom said. “It’s such a small act of kindness to knit a hat. And in cold weather, everyone needs one.”
Hats have landed at Melom’s doorstep from New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Montana, Hawaii and beyond. Said Melom: “And we just got one from Amsterdam!”
Richard Green Central Park Community School in Minneapolis is among the beneficiaries of the knitters’ labor. The woolen hats are given to students whose families are homeless or precariously housed, as well as others who lack protection from Minnesota winters.
Long, cold winter
Winters last a long time in the Twin Cities. To learn more about Hats for the Homeless, visit the group’s website, hats4thehomeless.blogspot.com, which also includes knitting patterns.
School social worker Sandee Lawson says students consider the hats “cool.” “There’s always a design on them or something special,” Lawson said. “Every hat carries something of the person who knitted it, so the child can know, ‘Somebody loves me too.’ ”
Melom, a retired speech therapist, just wanted 60 knit hats that Christmas Eve in 2009 when she and her mother-in-law worked at Simpson Housing Service’s homeless shelter in Minneapolis. When her shoutout to her church and friends yielded a swift 300, she realized she was on to something.
In 2010, Hats for the Homeless was selected as a featured nonprofit by Sharing Our Gifts, a North Carolina-based nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers. That opened the doors to national donors.
“Hats came in from all over the place,” Melom said. “It’s like a snowball that keeps rolling and getting bigger.”
A knitting group that meets weekly at Ingebretsen’s Scandinavian Gifts is among the hat-makers. More than a dozen women gathered recently around a table filled with skeins of yarn and coffee cups. The women said they always knew there were homeless people in the Twin Cities, but it wasn’t until Melom introduced Hats for the Homeless that they made a personal connection.
“It’s a good reminder of the need,” said JoAnn Manthey, sitting at the head of the table.
“We all kind of knew it was out there,” Peggy Hansen added. “But when you put your hands on something, it makes it real.”
Melom and others often go to coffee shops and other places to do “public knitting.” It’s how they attract new members.
“By knitting in public, people stop by and ask us what we’re doing,” Melom said. “That’s how we spread the word.”
Christina Giese, who coordinates volunteer services for the Simpson shelter, said that the project is educating folks about homelessness as they create beautiful gifts.
“They’re something you’d give to someone you love rather than someone in need,” she said. “There is dignity.”