By J.P. Antonacci
IT takes about 80 hours to make a wool blanket destined to be wrapped around a precariously housed person in Norfolk County.
“That’s a lot of love and time that goes into each blanket,” said James Durka of Port Dover.
Mr. Durka and his wife, Barb, run Patches From Heaven, a volunteer group that has donated nearly 2,100 warm, colourful blankets over the past 30 years.
Each blanket contains 36 knitted patches and measures six-by-six feet.
“It wraps right around you,” said Mr. Durka, a retired teacher who started the knitting program as a challenge to his Grade 6 class in Caledonia.
“They loved it,” he recalled. “I figured it was going to be a three-month thing. Thirty years later, here we are.”
Knitting and sewing at recess and throughout the summer, Mr. Durka’s students—with help from adult volunteers—made hundreds of blankets for Good Shepherd and Mission Services of Hamilton in the two decades after the initiative launched.
Then, 11 years ago, the Durkas moved to Port Dover and their basement shelves again filled with balls of yarn and stacks of knitted squares.
“When we moved from Haldimand, I figured the program would end. But when we heard the stories and the need that they had, we just continued on,” said Mr. Durka, who was moved by accounts of people freezing because they were sleeping under bridges and along trails.
“Our big problem out in Norfolk is the hidden homeless,” he said. “People who are going back and forth sleeping on couches or in a tent.”
Patches From Heaven now sends blankets to a half-dozen local agencies, including the women’s shelter and The Salvation Army in Simcoe.
Residents at two supportive housing complexes in Simcoe built by Hamilton-based non-profit Indwell have received blankets, as have people living in encampments.
“Some of the blankets are used for bedding in the shelter itself. Others are given away to help our homeless ward off frostbite during the frigid winter days,” said Virginia Lucas, director of an overnight shelter in Simcoe run by local charity Church Out Serving.
“Many of our local homeless are more senior in age and are particularly vulnerable to the cold,” Ms. Lucas added. “Blankets and extra clothing layers can literally make the difference between life and death on the street in below-zero temperatures.”
Along with a perpetual need for four-ply yarn—chosen for its warmth and durability, Mr. Durka explained—the group is looking for new knitters to augment a dedicated core of 40 who are getting up in age, with the oldest volunteer still knitting at 97.
A Hamilton woman in her late 80s has been knitting patches for 29 years and is still at it, with her son—who lives in Port Dover—delivering her work to the Durkas.
Another volunteer put together 30 blankets last year after losing her husband and getting back into sewing.
“For some of our seniors, it’s given them hope and something to look forward to,” Mr. Durka said. “It gives them another direction that keeps them going.”
Attached to each colourful blanket is a note telling the recipient they are not alone and their blanket was made “with tender loving care.”
“I know they get a blanket, but what’s really important is it provides them with hope,” Mr. Durka said.
“It shows them that people haven’t forgotten about them.”
Patches From Heaven does not accept monetary donations, but gifts of yarn and time are welcome. To learn more, email patchesfromheaven@gmail.com or call the Durkas at 519-583-0915.
J.P. Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at The Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
