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Winter clothing drive to keep people warm and safe

Thunder Bay Police add a new safety component to annual winter clothing drive.

THUNDER BAY - Local police and volunteers are taking steps to ensure that vulnerable members of the community will be safe this winter on area roads.

Thunder Bay Police officers and volunteers with the Zone Watch Program held their annual winter clothing drive on Sunday. More than 300 coats were donated by the community during the single day drive.

“I’m overwhelmed by the response so far,” said Const. Gordon Snyder with the Thunder Bay Police Traffic Unit. “It is much more than I have seen before and much more than I was expecting.”  

This year, an additional safety component was added to the coat drive. All coats that were donated will be fitted with iron-on reflective tape on the arms, front, and back.  

“With that, pedestrians are much more likely to be seen if they are crossing the roadway,” Snyder said. “So we are trying to incorporate two safety aspects: one is the warmth to ensure that members of the less fortunate community are warm in the winter, and the second is if they find themselves on the street, which they obviously often are, they can be seen better by motorists.”

Snyder said in the last two years there has been an increased number of incidents involving vulnerable members of the population and motor vehicles, which has included several fatalities.

“I have no doubt that this is going to save someone’s life, just based on the number of collisions we do see regarding our homeless population,” he said.

The coats will be distributed immediately to those in need. Snyder said they are looking at a number of different locations where coats will be available and police officers will also be distributing them while out on patrols or at the police station.

“Often times we have people we bring in for the night due to safety concerns and we’ll be letting them out in the morning and be supplying them with warm jackets if they need them,” Snyder said.

David Penna, a volunteer with Zone Watch, said winter is just around the corner and it is getting darker much earlier, so the winter clothing drive is important for keeping all members of the community safe.

Penna added that the addition of the reflective tape is a great way to make an already important community initiative even better.

“Giving out a coat is a great thing when winter comes, but if that coat is a hazard to the person because it is very dark colour and they can’t be seen at night, that is going to endanger their lives if they are out in the dark,” he said. “To be adding the decals on this year is a great bonus and a great thing to be doing.”

Held in conjunction with the winter clothing drive was a Halloween display at the Thunder Bay Police Station hosted by volunteers with Zone Watch. Families and children were treated to Halloween snacks and provided with their own reflective tape to stay safe this Halloween.

Const. Julie Tilbury, said the collaborative effort between the police and Zone Watch is always beneficial.

“I think citizens talking to other citizens is a better way to hit home a message rather than just us trying to preach out some sort of a message,” she said. “It’s been a great collaboration.”

Thunder Bay Police are reminding everyone on area roads to take extra caution this time of year, whether you are on the sidewalk or behind the wheel.

Snyder said that motorists need to be cautious and aware of their surroundings and keep their eyes on the road at all times. Pedestrians are reminded to only cross roads at intersections where motorists are expecting to see you, and to make yourself seen by wearing reflective tape on your coat, shoes, or hat.

“Anything that makes a motorist more likely to see you is a good thing,” Snyder said.



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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