Volunteer group gets shelter as they help people who are homeless

A community group in Sudbury that has been helping others since the fall is now on the receiving end of support.

Since September, the group has been providing donated clothing and toiletries to individuals who are homeless or on a low-income. Founding member Melissa Belanger says that they've been setting up all their donated items once a week outside.

But recently the Church of Epiphany on Larch Street offered its basement space to hold the event every Sunday afternoon.

"Over the last few weeks we've had challenges because of the inclement weather. And we were freezing and the [clients] were freezing," she said. "So the church graciously reached out to us."

Belanger says volunteers still travel around the city by vehicle throughout the week to hand out donations. They are working to fill a gap left by agencies that are no longer able to accept donations of clothing or toiletries because of public health measures.

They assemble and distribute donations of clothing, outerwear, toiletries and even food for those who are experiencing homelessness or are on a low income.

"We wanted to fill the gaps. We started with a water and a granola bar, but we noticed very quickly we were going through a seasonal change," she said.

"So they were coming in October in sandals and T-shirts. So we basically transitioned all of them into fall wear and winter wear and of course we'll do the next seasonal transition as well."