Image of the Week: Homeless Snuggie?

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-02-06 07:22:00 UTC
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It's a coat! It's a sleeping bag! It's a... snuggie?

Well, not exactly. Although the coat does bear a remarkable resemblence to the amazing "blanket with sleeves" flooding the airwaves, it's actually called the Ultra Coat.

The Ultra Coat was conceptualized and designed by students in an Idaho middle school who wanted to find a way to help the homeless. According to the Spokesman Review:

"Some said we should donate coats. Others said no, we should donate sleeping bags. No, we should put them all together," said Meagan Ellis, a fifth-grader.

...

The Ultra Coat is a head-to-toe garment with an outer layer of waterproof nylon covering more layers of Poly Fleece and Mylar. It's hooded at the top and has a drawstring at the bottom. The materials cost $56 a coat, Braid said.

The kids designed the coat on a computer and cut out the pattern using butcher paper. After breaking their needle on the project, the students turned the prototype over to sixth-grader Brandon Algeier's grandmother, whom he said was pretty handy with a sewing machine. Braid's neighbor, a retired seamstress, pitched in. Now the team is ready to turn the design over to a manufacturer, if one can be found. A retired patent attorney who volunteers at the House of Shelter is looking into the Ultra Coat's possibilities.

Photo from Spokesman.com: "Rich Atwood wears a combination coat and sleeping bag Monday at the House of Charity in Spokane. The coat was designed by the students of West Valley City School's Kathy Braid, left, including Melody Fyre, second from left, Skye Reynolds, center, and Jared Lord, far right."

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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