Free New Winter Coats Available to the Bedford Community

Bedford Youth and Family Services has a selection of free new winter coats available to any member of the Bedford Community. Courtesy Photo.

As the temperatures are predicted to dip at the end of this week, staff at Bedford Youth and Family services are ready to offer free new winter coats, hats, and gloves to any member of the Bedford community who may need to keep warm.

The winter coat distribution program began in October 2020 and has continued through donations of brand new winter coats, hats, and gloves of all sizes from infant to adults from Cradles to Crayons, Bedford Neighbor Brigade, Bedford Rotary, Lantheus, and Bedford community members.

There are no requirements and there is no screening process to receive a coat. At this point in the season and due to storage constraints, there may be limits on adult sizes (additional children’s sizes are available through Cradles to Crayons), so people looking for a new coat can call 781-275-7727 to check on availability before stopping by. Otherwise, there is no appointment needed, the coats are readily available for pick up at the Youth and Family Services office in the Town Center Building (12 Mudge Way) and people are invited to drop in when the building is open. If someone does not have transportation, the staff can assist in the delivery of a coat.

Coats were available outside Town Center during the Food Bank pick up window a couple of weeks ago. Anyone needing a coat can availability by calling or stopping by Youth and Family Services in the Town Center (Yellow Building) without an appointment. Courtesy Image.

While the coats have been distributed to people calling or stopping by the office since the program started, this year a free coat event was offered a couple of weeks ago in the Town Center parking lot coinciding with the weekly Food Bank pick up. Chris Bang, Community Social Worker and organizer of the coat distribution, said via email, “We distributed about 60 coats at the Food Bank event, we have given out more than 125 coats to community members this year.

“Youth and Family is proud of the program and we are excited to continue to offer it to community members in need,” Bang said. “We plan to continue this program for as long as we can and we see no barriers to continuing it for many years to come.”

Bang added, “We would like to encourage any community members who are facing financial difficulties, food insecurity, and/or low resources to please reach out to Youth and Family Services at 781-275-7727. Our staff is trained to assist community members with connecting to resources and services that can help.”