Coat program downtown
Coats hang on a fence downtown waiting for someone who needs them.
If you’ve visited downtown Soda Springs this winter, you’ve undoubtedly seen the at-first strange sight of a number of coats hanging on the fence in front of the Dinkey Engine near the library. Joining many cities around country, Caribou County has its own ad hoc program designed to provide warm winter clothing to those who need it. Although the library staff keep an eye on the coats, the system pretty much takes care of itself. Anyone who needs a coat is welcome to take one, and anyone who has a coat they are no longer using or would like to donate it.
“We think it’s a pretty amazing thing. No one knows who started it,” Library Director Cindy Erickson winks, “but it’s a pretty good sign of what people are like here.”
The winter can be an especially challenging time for many people, for a variety of reasons. For some, the increased darkness and inability to spend as much time outdoors cause emotional or mental distress. For others, heating costs and food scarcity are the immediate problems. More details about the coat program itself, as well as a number of other programs in the community, such as the city’s utility bill reduction, local food pantries, and services offered by
SEICAA and other support organizations will be coming soon to the pages of The Enterprise.
