Columbus police partner with a local business to collect winter gear for homeless ahead of freezing weather

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — With freezing temperatures in the forecast next week, the Columbus Police Department’s Community Policing Unit is teaming up with a local business to collect and distribute cold-weather essentials for the city’s homeless population.

The partnership with The Rock Shop, a landscape materials business in Columbus, has already led to boxes of blankets, coats, gloves, socks, and hand warmers being gathered for those in need.

“This is truly heaven-sent right here. This is God’s work,” said Jolie Brazier of The Rock Shop. “At the end of the day, we are all human.”

The effort began when Sgt. Katina Williams of the Community Policing Unit and Rock Shop owner Jeremy Brazier started discussing community outreach projects after a Halloween event.

Brazier suggested creating an Amazon wish list, allowing donors to purchase needed items online and have them shipped directly to The Rock Shop.

“If you post on Facebook that you’re trying to do something, people are going to repost and share,” Brazier said. “You can just click and send it straight to our office, and the police can pick it up from here.”

The need is especially urgent this week with cold weather approaching and the Safe House Day Center, a traditional warming station, is temporarily closed.

“With the government shutdown and this cold front coming in, people without homes will be looking for ways to stay warm,” Williams said. “Instead of seeing crime rise because people are desperate, why can’t we just meet the needs of the community?”

Jeremy Brazier said he hopes the effort reminds people that compassion can make a difference.

“If a blanket or a pair of gloves can show love and mercy toward someone, we’re doing the Lord’s work,” he said.

The Community Policing Unit is asking for donations of blankets, coats, gloves, socks, and hand warmers.

Items can be dropped off at The Rock Shop (open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday), or through the business’s social media platforms.