These women weave mats out of grocery bags for Jackson's unhoused population. See how to help

Because of the efforts a group of local volunteers partnering with St. Dominic's Hospital, plastic grocery, shopping and dry cleaning bags are being given a new life, repurposed into weatherproof sleeping mats for Jackson's unhoused population.

Marie Morris and a group of women from Jackson's neighboring cities hand-make the mats, with each clocking in at around 800 or more plastic bags.

On a Monday morning in late May, three of those women— Morris, Julia Williams of Gluckstadt and Regis Gordon of Clinton — chatted as they stood on either side of a table, weaving long strands of plastic bags into a halfway completed mat stretched over a large wooden loom crafted by Peter Morris, Marie's husband. This mat marked the 24th completed since the group started three months earlier in February.

Along with these three women, Rosemary Grantham and Kelly Grissett volunteer to make the mats. Morris, who moved to Mississippi from Boston in 1973, knows the other volunteers through church or St. Dominic's, where she has volunteered for 20 years.

The weaving takes place in Morris' craft room in her house in Terry. The women typically gather every other Monday to work on the mats, usually completing one in a matter of hours.

Morris first saw the idea on Pinterest. There were several keys details left out of the Pinterest post, leaving the group to fill in the gaps as they went along. After some trial and error, the women have streamlined the process. Pieces of black pipe painted red sit attached to every other strand to make it easier to keep track of which strand to weave under or over next.

A mat begins with long strands of plastic grocery bags cut in half and tied tautly together. Morris said she often spends free time tying the bags together so the strands are ready when the other women come to weave them together.

The weaving process resembles a large crochet project. The women take a large wooden shuttle resembling an oversized needle, also crafted by Peter, and thread the long strands through the rounded end. They then stand on opposite sides of the table and weave the shuttle through in an over-and-under pattern, passing the shuttle to the other once all the way through the width of the mat. The other woman then begins the pattern again from the other side.

Once pulled off the wooden loom, a finished mat measures nearly 3 feet by 6 feet and contains around 800 or more plastic bags. Light and portable, the mats are tied with rope fashioned into a handle. A small wooden cross secured to the rope adds the finishing touch, and the mat is ready to go.

Sister Mary Trinita, a former nurse at St. Dominic's, will work with St. Dominic's and Stewpot to distribute the mats to the unhoused population of Jackson. Morris said she isn't sure how long a mat would last once in use, but jokingly said that if the mayor starts complaining about loose plastic bags in the streets, she'll know there's a problem.

More on Sister Mary Trinita: St. Dominic's renames clinic to honor Jackson nun. Read her story here

Given the amount of time and care put into a single mat, it's safe to assume the mats will last through many seasons to come.

Morris encouraged anyone who wants to help to bring in their plastic bags, since the mats are entirely made from donated bags. As the women wove, a large black garbage bag full of plastic bags sat waiting just outside the craft room, donated by people working of Morris' roof.

Those with spare grocery bags can bring them to the St. Dominic's volunteer office or the information desk. Morris said the best kind are grocery, dry cleaning and shopping bags such as shoe store bags. Thinner materials like bread bags, she said, are not good for weaving.

Anyone interested in helping Morris and the other women with weaving can ask for Morris' contact information at the volunteer office.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Women weave mats out of grocery bags for Jackson's unhoused population