Posted on January 19, 2017 by Melissa Koenig in LI Herald LI Herald, By Melissa Koenig Colette Morales, a hair stylist at Who Does Your Hair? in Bellmore, was walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan on Jan. 9 when she saw a homeless man wearing lightweight pants curled up into a ball. This man planned to stay warm at a McDonald’s that night, when the temperature cooled to 15 degrees. “If he keeps buying coffee, they can’t throw him out,” said Morales. The very next day Morales posted on Facebook that she would collect blankets until Jan. 15 to warm those who are living on the streets of New York City. She immediately received several responses, and her first donation by 4 p.m. Her co-worker, Lauren Lupola, also shared the message and immediately offered her assistance. “Lauren and I are very similar in that we have an abundance of compassion for people and we connect on that level tremendously,” said Morales. On Jan. 15, the two women drove into New York City and personally handed out the blankets to anyone they saw sleeping on the streets. “A little interaction, you know? I think it’s a big thing that’ll mean a lot to them instead of just going to the shelter and picking it out,” said Lupola last week, before the trip. If people would like to donate blankets, but could make it to the salon in time, Morales and Lupola are willing to extend the deadline for drop-offs.
