Handmade quilts blanketed Independence Mall for a temporary homeless memorial
The blankets, collected by a volunteer initiative called the Homeless Memorial Blanket Project, were then turned over to local service providers to distribute to Philly youth with unstable housing.
About 700 blankets, all quilted, knit, or crocheted by crafters from Maine to South Carolina, were spread across the frozen grass on Independence Mall on Saturday afternoon in a show of solidarity and generosity with the more than half a million Americans experiencing homelessness.
The blankets, collected by a volunteer initiative called the Homeless Memorial Blanket Project, were then turned over to local service providers to distribute to Philly youth with unstable housing.
Homelessness has risen to its highest recorded level in recent years, to more than 650,000 unhoused people as of January 2023, according to the most recent count released by the federal government. Philadelphia this year saw its highest level of homelessness since before the pandemic.
Service providers have struggled to keep pace. Philadelphia outspent its Office of Homeless Services budget by more than $15 million last year.
Nationally, some leaders are opting for a punitive approach. The Memorial Blanket’s last display was outside the U.S. Supreme Court in April, for Grants Pass v. Johnson, in which the court ruled that states could enforce bans on sleeping outdoors — viewed by critics as a step toward criminalizing homelessness.