A DeRidder woman is turning a hobby into a mission this winter by crocheting plastic bags into sleeping mats for those in need of a dry place to lay their head.

Becky Fejarang first learned of the plastic bag yarn, or plarn, method in December when she was perfecting her crochet craft. Through a simple post on social media that was shared with her, Fejarang’s interest in the unique use of plastic bags grew into a passion to make a difference.

“I wasn’t sure who would need them, because we don’t have a large homeless population in DeRidder and so I thought of sending them to an outreach center in Dallas, Texas. Then, I was introduced to Abraham’s Tent in Lake Charles and I asked if they might have a need for them,” Fejarang stated.

Abraham’s Tent director Pearl Cole said she was all too happy to accept the offer of mats, saying that a sleeping mat is one of the top requested items from the nonprofit organization each year.

“Sleeping bags are a top request during the winter, but even throughout the rest of the year we are getting requests for bedding. Even if it’s warm and dry, no one wants to lay down on the ground to sleep,” Cole stated.

Because of the plarn mat material, the mats will be waterproof, lightweight and portable. All qualities, Cole said, that make them a useful tool to those in need.

“Sleeping bags become damaged, lost or sadly stolen a lot of times. We will often have the same individuals come to us multiple times asking for more bedding. These plarn mats are going to be a huge help to us and I’m excited to receive them,” Cole stated.

Fejarang announced on social media that she was collecting bags for her cause, and nearly overnight she had several 4H groups and school groups reaching out to donate.

“I started out just asking people to save their plastic bags for me. Ladies in my crochet group began sharing to their friends and it just kind of started to grow,” Fejarang stated.

As of this week, the DeRidder Fire Department volunteered its station on North Pine Street as a donation drop off point for plastic bags, and now Fejarang hopes to recruit more volunteers to help her crochet the plarn mats.

“I am so happy to see this project grow the way that it is and I’m so excited about what we are going to be able to accomplish,” Fejarang stated.

Fejarang said anyone who can crochet a foundation chain and a single crochet stitch is capable of creating the mats. Volunteers may join in a meeting Thursday evening at 5:45 at the Beauregard Parish Library in DeRidder to find out more about helping with the project.Becky Fejarang is recruiting volunteers to help her mission of crocheting plastic bags into bed mats for the homeless.

Special to the American Press