By Cyrus Guccione
Mail

Every third Monday of the month, a few tables and chairs fill the lobby of Fountain View Village (FVV) as residents cut, fold and crochet plastic bags into sleeping mats for those living on the street.

The mats require upwards of 900 bags to create and over the last five years, FVV residents Carmen Shreve, Cobe Frobes and Jean Majeric have created 28 mats. As they often run out of plastic bags, they are asking the community to donate their recycled plastic bags in the bins near the front door of FVV to support homeless individuals.

Plastic compassion

It all began a few years ago when Homeless Matters’ Founder Leona Voltz made a demonstration at FVV, asking if anyone wanted to volunteer.

A nonprofit organization that makes sleeping mats and compassion bags for homeless individuals in Arizona, Homeless Matters keeps plastic bags out of landfills and repurposes them into something useful.

“My wife (Ruth Joan Shreve) raised her hand and she raised my hand too,” said Carmen Shreve, a retired aerospace engineer who designed electronics for fighter jets used in the Kuwait and Afghanistan wars.

Since “volunteering,” Shreve has found joy in the process and has helped recycle more than 46,000 bags.

 Ruth Joan Shreve passed away on August 29, 2021, but her husband has not yet given up the cause.

Residents of Fountain View Village repurpose recycled plastic bags into sleeping mats for homeless individuals.

The process begins with flattening the bags, cutting them into long strips and rolling them into balls of plastic yarn.

Using extra large crochet pins Frobes and Majeric work their magic to create 30”x65” plastic mats while the remnants are used to make pillow covers and compassion bags for clothes and toiletries.

When the mats are complete, Homeless Matters delivers compassion bags containing the mattresses to Circle the City and Andre House in Phoenix.

The plastic is crocheted into plastic mats and compassion bags for homeless individuals. (Photo courtesy of Homeless Matters)

“I would guess it takes somewhere around 20 hours to make one mat,” Majeric says, who keeps the plastic balls of yarn by her recliner. “I started crocheting long before I came here,  and I met Carmen and that’s how I got involved.”

Frobes too keeps the plastic yarn nearby and works on it every now and then.

“It depends on how much Judge Judy I’m watching and how many books I’m reading,” she said.

Cobe Frobes crocheting a plastic mat.

Shreve says the process is a win-win-win by creating a fun social hour for residents, keeping bags out of landfills while supporting a good cause.

He says 40% of homeless individuals are veterans and is eager to help them in any way he can.

The community is invited to drop off their plastic bags in the bins in front of Fountain View Village.

Support the cause

As the team at FVV works to make a difference in the lives of those living on the street, the community is invited to drop off any plastic bags in the bins located near the front doors of FVV, located at 16455 E. Avenue of the Fountains.

“It makes it a little tough for me when I don’t have a car anymore. I don’t drive,” Shreve said. “The drop-off is something new so we’ll see how it works.”

The team at FVV have processed over 46,000 bags and counting.

Just shy of processing 50,000 plastic bags, Shreve fills his days gathering, cutting and preparing bags for the crochet team, a process he used to share with his wife before she passed away.

“I told Ruth, ‘I’ll do this, but when we do 50,000 bags, I’m going to retire.’ She would have laughed that I was still doing this. She would give me a bad time and say, ‘I thought you were going to leave this,’” Shreve said. “I don’t know, I may change my mind and go for another 50,000.”

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Cyrus Guccione can be reached at cguccione@iniusa.org.