PORT CHESTER – Wall Street has its Dow Jones. Economists look at consumer confidence. For 15 years, Deborah Blatt has been tracking how many needy children in Westchester seek help to put on their clothes. Call it the Closet Quotient.
The demand for shoes, coats, shirts and more in affluent Westchester continues to grow.
The Sharing Shelf wardrobe, which Blatt founded in 2009, saw demand triple from 2020 to 2023, with requests up 11% this year.
“Before Covid, we were at about 1,800 children a year asking for clothes. By the end of 2023, we were at 5,579 requests,” she said.
“Right now, in the second week of September, we have already processed almost 3,900 applications, and we still have 25% of the year to go.”
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Those numbers, sobering as they are, tell only part of the story. Blatt, an attorney, wanted to know how clothing insecurity affects the people she serves, from newborns to 19-year-olds.
She surveyed 123 social workers and school social workers with a battery of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Things like: Prioritize the clothing that children on your caseload need most; Describe how clothing insecurity affects families; Talk about the impact of clothing insecurity on the daily lives of children in Westchester.
Sneakers top the list of most needed clothing items
When asked what items of clothing were needed most, 123 caseworkers responded. Here’s what they said:
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85% said sneakers;
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81% said coats;
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80% said shirts;
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61% said jeans or pants;
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57% said underwear or diapers;
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45% said sweatshirts or sweaters;
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43% said sweatpants or leggings;
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34% said shoes;
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20% said socks.
What effect does the lack of clothing have on the children of Westchester?
When asked how a lack of clothing affects children, 109 caregivers responded: 88% reported emotional impacts, 72% reported social impacts, and 58% said it affects children academically.
When asked to describe the specific impacts on schoolchildren experiencing clothing insecurity, 109 caregivers – people who have regular contact with these children and help them meet their basic needs – counted the ways in which.
When a child’s wardrobe fails, when they don’t have seasonal or well-fitting clothing, it undermines their self-esteem, 92 caregivers said. Children are bullied, 60 said. Students skip school, 40 said. It leads to outbursts or negative behavior from the child, 20 said. A child or teen doesn’t participate in sports or after-school activities, 16 said. The child’s schoolwork drops, 14 said. The child becomes withdrawn, 12 said. It affects the child’s relationship with a parent or caregiver, seven said.
Blatt firmly believes that The Sharing Shelf’s mission is solid: give people the opportunity to act consciously and sustainably, to give from their closets to help those in need. That’s the giving side, she said.
But there is also the need side, which is met when a social worker helps a family fill out an application for assistance (at www.thesharingshed.com) and notes comments on the form.
“Family lost everything in a fire.”
“The mother would appreciate sneakers or boots for the winter.”
“The child needs underwear.”
“Teenager skips school because he doesn’t have clean clothes.”
Digging deeper, expressing the problem in figures
The survey helped Blatt dig deeper. It confirmed her core beliefs and strengthened the case for what she and her 1,072 volunteers did last year. And what they will continue to do this year, when the need is even greater.
“It actually gave concrete information about what all of our internal guesses were about what clothes mean,” Blatt said. “You and I can say, ‘Clothing means a lot to me. I feel good in clothes. It’s an identity for me.’ Other people will say, ‘Well, it’s a practical item. I don’t really care about style and fashion. I just need to be warm on a cold day or cool on a hot day.’
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The research shows that clothing is crucial to a child’s growth and self-confidence, Blatt said.
“Food nourishes, clothing is part of their psychological health, their mental health and their well-being, whether or not they stay in school, whether or not they go to school, how they perform in school.”
The Sharing Shelf has continued to reinvent itself, adding programs and expanding its offerings. This year, a Teen Boutique opened next to their warehouse, where teens in financial need can “shop” for free and choose their own outfits in “a private and dignified environment that looks and feels like a real boutique.”
“This is a critical problem”
There is a lot of shortage in Westchester, Blatt said.
According to the Westchester Children’s Association, the poverty rate for children under five increased from 9.5% to 11.7% between 2021 and 2022. More than 67,000 children and teens live in poverty or in low-income families.
According to Blatt, the research proves that clothing is the third pillar of poverty reduction in Westchester.
“It goes hand in hand with children in poverty who are dealing with housing instability and food insecurity,” she said. “This is a critical issue.”
The children whose families have been evicted? They’re applying for clothing assistance at The Sharing Shelf, she said. The children whose families are struggling to put food on the table? They’re applying for assistance, too.
Blatt said funding groups have told her that clothing is less important than food and housing. She said she hopes the survey will help change minds.
The nonprofit spends about $75,000 a year to supplement the donated clothing with new clothes they purchase to fill their closets.
While Blatt believes donating secondhand clothing serves an environmental purpose, she’s also a realist. When a family with two children says they need clothes, she wants The Sharing Shelf to be ready to clothe both kids, with packages of coats, shoes, socks, underwear, jeans, shirts and sweatshirts. Sending clothes to one child and not the other isn’t fair, she said.
“If we wait six months for that size 14 pair of pants to get to that child, you haven’t addressed the clothing insecurity,” she said. “You need to be able to respond in a timely manner.”
How can you help?
When asked how people can support The Sharing Shelf, Blatt said they can find more information on the nonprofit’s website, www.thesharingshelf.org, including:
Donate lightly used clothing. I went to the website to make an appointment to drop off clothes.
Sign up as a volunteer to help sort donated clothing. More than 1,000 volunteers have worked 16,862 hours sorting clothes at the Port Chester warehouse in 2023. Hundreds more have volunteered at off-site events.
Organize a clothing or coat drive. On the website you will find tips on how to do this, how to tell The Sharing Shelf about your campaign and how to expect donations.
Make a financial donation. Donors can reserve their gift for specific items of clothing or make a general donation to The Sharing Shelf.
To seek help with clothing: Go to www.thesharingshelf.org/assistance.
Peter D. Kramer is a 36-year contributor who writes long-form stories on a variety of topics. He has recently written about the murder of Megan McDonald in Orange County, affordability and development, and breaking news. His story on the Oak Street fire in Yonkers won a national Headliner Award for outstanding news special/feature column. Reach him at pkramer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Many Westchester NY Children Have No Shoes, Coats or Clothes. How You Can Help
