A mat for sleeping on, made out of plastic bags, is delivered to Turning Point Society in Red Deer on April 27, 2022. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

the gift of comfort

Innisfail seniors help Turning Point clients through art of ‘plarning’

Apr 28, 2022 | 7:00 AM

The gift of comfort is coming to a dozen additional clients of Red Deer’s Turning Point Society after a donation by a central Alberta seniors group.

On Wednesday, members of the Innisfail Seniors Drop-In Society stopped by Turning Point’s downtown Red Deer office with twelve mats, made from intertwined plastic bags. The technique is called ‘plarning,’ or using plastic as a type of yarn to crochet into mats or other items.

The mats are made from several hundreds of bags each, take up to 30 hours to make per mat, and as a bonus, they are lice and pest-free because the bags are unused. They also come with straps. It’s the group’s third donation of mats over the last couple years, for 32 total mats made and donated.

“It’s amazing that this group has made these mats out of the goodness of their heart without being asked to, especially because they’re out in Innisfail, and they’re mostly people who don’t often see our clients. When we get these, they go so fast,” says Danser.

L-R: Teressa Greening, Colleen Preston and Nancy Priest of the Innisfail Seniors Drop-In Society, with Mitchell Danser of Turning Point (second from right). (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

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“These kinds of contributions really do validate our work, and we are so thankful. Donations are typically clothing or monetary, both of which are phenomenal, but when someone makes something, it goes the extra mile because we know that they spent time thinking about our clients the entire time they were making it.”

Danser notes other high-importance items people can donate include deodorant and make-up, both of which help restore some level of dignity for people.

Colleen Preston, society member, says the group is very happy to make the donation of their time to making the mats, having increased their understanding of the various ways homelessness can occur.

“In the social work program I took at RDC, we learned the ins and outs of homelessness, and about the difficulties people can have when they use drugs; how that makes it hard to pay rent and live responsibly,” she says.

“Often, people who use drugs do so as a result of trauma that’s happened to them, and they’re unable to get they supports they need. Next thing, they can be on the street, and that’s the sad reality. It would be nice if the government could provide more supports through these non-profits who are trying to help people.”

As a bonus, diverting the bags from the landfill is also great for the environment, Preston adds.

Preston was joined by fellow society members Teressa Greening and Nancy Priest, who meet with their group each Wednesday for three hours at Innisfail’s Lundgren Centre, then spend additional time on the mats at home.

Preston says people of all ages are welcome to help with the group.

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

They’re also asking any businesses transitioning to paper bags, and who have surplus unused plastic bags, to contact Turning Point if they are willing to donate them for the purpose of making more mats.

Danser agrees that the fact these mats are needed and go so fast is indicative of the bigger issue — part of which is a lack of roofs to put over heads.

“This is a bigger issue the community needs to get behind and help bolster. At the end of the day, there are a lot of things preventing people getting access to a bed each and every night, be it mobility issues, or not meeting admittance rules,” he says. “We need more collaboration and action to be taken toward solving this big issue.”