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International Association of Youth provide sleeping bags to homeless

December 11, 2014

Yolanda Gutierrez, a 2-year resident of a homeless encampment known as The Jungle, holds a sign in protest Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, in San Jose, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

By The Korea Times San Francisco staff

Warmth to Homeless, an annual project by the International Association of Youth and The Korea Times San Francisco, is returning this year to provide sleeping bags to those without homes.

IAY, an organization comprised of high school students, said it had been providing hundreds of sleeping bags to the homeless gathered at “the Jungle,” a 64-acre homeless camp in Silicon Valley known to be the largest of its kind in the U.S.

It was dismantled by authorities earlier this month in an effort to clean up the booming and prosperous tech mecca.

Sleeping bags are easier to carry and provide more warmth than blankets, IAY said.

Other items needed by the homeless include socks, beanie hats and nail clippers, which the project will also give out, IAY said.

Kim Won-gil, a supporter of the project who has donated every year, said he sends money each year because even the smallest gesture of sharing makes for great happiness.

San Francisco Consul General Han Dong-man, who sent a donation on Dec. 4, said he participated in volunteer efforts to help the homeless in Seoul.

“I hope a society held together by sharing and volunteering becomes reality,” Han said.

Warmth to Homeless is open to donations until Dec. 22.