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SALT LAKE CITY — Right now there is an urgent need for winter coats and hygiene products at the Pamela Atkinson Resource Center in South Salt Lake, the state's largest resource center for homeless men.
"We have a really high urgent need for men's coats. We have run out and we need them for the men that we serve," said Karissa Guthrie, a community relations coordinator for the Road Home, which operates the facility.
For the past week, the resource center has served an average of 296 men each night, which is just four under capacity.
"We see people seeking shelter during the colder months just because we have brutal winters here — it's very cold," said Guthrie.
As the days grow colder in northern Utah the need for winter clothing has spiked, and many of the donation bins at the facility are empty.
"We have maybe only 10 coats here," Guthrie said while looking through a rack of donated coats. "If we can't give them a coat, we're going to give them a blanket. If we can't give them a blanket, we're going to give them a couple of extra things to keep layers on."
Along with larger winter coats (L, XL, XXL), the men's resource center desperately needs hygiene products like shaving cream, razors, soaps and shampoo. They also need laundry detergent so the men can do their own wash at the facility.
"People, when they typically think of people experiencing homelessness, they think of families first — and of course, we want to take care of those kiddos, we want to take care of those people," Guthrie said. "But our men sometimes are just forgotten, and it just happens."
The resource center is hopeful the community will see this critical need and take action, knowing each item donated is helping someone's loved one in need.
"We strive to help them in every way that we can, it's just resources run out and we count on our community to help us with that," Guthrie said.
Donations can be dropped off anytime at the facility located at 3380 South 1000 West in South Salt Lake. Monetary donations can be made online here .
