Monday at the SoupMobile, the menu of lasagna and sandwiches also includes a side of warmth.
“Give me one of them Cowboys’ jackets. You got a Cowboys’ jacket today?” Howard Ervin asks as he walks up to the SoupMobile van that has bags filled with jackets inside.
Ervin is one of about a 100 people getting suited up with a new coat Monday during lunch.
“Yeah, I needed one, too,” Ervin said. “Well, I’m 71-years-old, arthritis all through my body. I’m not homeless, though, but I’m not too far from it.”
“But when you’re homeless, you’re going to keep everything you can get,” said Allyssia Washington.
She knows all too well what’s needed when you’re sleeping on the street, “sleeping bags, lots of blankets.”
Thanks to hundreds of donations by NBC 5 viewers, this coming winter in North Texas will be much easier to handle for these folks in need.
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“Oh, I mean that’s a blessing, it’s a blessing,” said Ervin.
And the gift of a new coat came as a surprise during this giving season. “I see I got my Christmas present early, thank you,” said Ervin.
“Normally they give us, when the truck is here, they give us canned goods and stuff. But today it’s coats. Hey! Merry Christmas to me!” said Washington with a laugh.
If you'd like to donate a new or used coat, drop it off at SoupMobile headquarters located at 3017 Commerce Street in Dallas. It's open Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
