Niagara Police connect with Niagara’s Mobile Closet to help clothe the needy as cold weather looms
Published November 19, 2021 at 4:07 pm
Niagara Police have partnered up with Niagara’s Mobile Closet to make clothing more accessible for those in need as the winter looms.
Niagara’s Mobile Closet, a former food truck/now clothing distributor, says their mission is to provide free, new and gently used clothing and other daily necessities to the unsheltered and low income population in the Niagara Region.
So how did Niagara’s Mobile Closet get started? From 2012 to 2020, Pam Nicholson, owner of Itty Bitty Pie Company was slinging pies off the bakery’s food truck. Along came the pandemic and the food truck industry, like the rest of the world, looked a lot different.
With no clear future for their food truck, Pam and her friend, Leslie Davenport decided to reinvent the truck. In November 2020, they put the call out for clothing donations to the people of Niagara Region.
“The response was nothing short of amazing,” said Nicholson. “The idea that clothing donors could help those less fortunate in the area for free, was a win-win situation and was something that many were interested in. Donations came from all over the region.”
With the truck packed with donated secondhand clothing, toiletries, sleeping bags, blankets and other necessities, Pam and Leslie hit the road. They drove around the downtown area of St. Catharines with the purpose of handing out supplies to those in need. They discovered that they did not have to look very far to share what they had on the truck.
Videos
This new partnership with the Niagara Police is starting in St. Catharines, where a mini closet has been installed and offers an inventory of clothing for those in need.
So what’s the police half of the partnership? Well, they’re the ones patrolling the streets so they come across an individual, usually homeless, and realize they have insufficient clothes, they’ll get fitted with appropriate seasonal clothing supplied by Niagara’s Mobile Closet.
Members of the public seeking to learn more about Niagara’s Mobile Closet are encouraged to visit their website at https://www.niagarasmobilecloset.com/
(Below: Niagara’s Mobile Closet founder Pam Nicholson poses with a Niagara Police officer)
