The Sedona Area Homeless Alliance has been weaving the lives of all of Sedona’s residents together since last June with its Operation BedRoll pilot program, which has the goal of turning 120,000 plastic bags into functional, portable bedding and insulation for Sedona’s homeless residents.

“To make a bedroll, it takes between 500 and 800 plastic grocery bags,” SAHA cofounder Laurie Moore said. She added that about 30 bedrolls have been distributed so far. “We have so many artists in our community; they’re taking different colored bags and creating designs. Of course, not everyone does that. Most [volunteers] will make a simple but functional bedding. It’s a fantastic community program, because it can include everybody.”

For a single person to collect and process the bags and then make them into bedding would be very inefficient, so SAHA has distributed its production process throughout the community of Sedona. 

It involves residents like a volunteer high school student who collects bags from Sedona Red Rock and Mingus Union high schools and the members of local organizations like the Rotary Club of Sedona Village, who spent six months collecting bags.

Those interested in donating can drop off used plastic grocery bags at the Sedona Public Library, and SAHA has plans to set up additional dropoff locations in Cottonwood and the Village of Oak Creek.

“This project made it possible to involve all of our members, no heavy lifting or hard work that would be too physically demanding,” Rotary Club of Sedona Village community service Chairwoman Heather Hermen said. “It’s a very important project that helps address a need within our community, help for the homeless. It’s no small task to tackle, but with organizations like ours, SAHA, and others working together, we can make a difference and support those around us who are most in need.”

After SAHA has collected the plastic bags, they are flattened and cut up. The next group turns the shredded material into something that resembles a ball of yarn, called “plarn” because it’s made out of plastic.

The final group of volunteers can then choose to weave or crochet the plarn into the bedrolls for distribution to Sedona’s homeless residents.

Weaving is the easiest approach to learn, Moore said, comparing it to children learning to make potholders. Crocheting is a more involved method, but SAHA provides the needed crocheting tools for interested volunteers to use.

An added benefit of these bedrolls is the extra warmth they provide, compared to inexpensive commercial bedrolls that are essentially $10-15 yoga mats. Although SAHA would prefer to have inflatable mattresses for people, those are only available when they are donated due to cost.

“These are very durable,” Moore said. “Even if they get dirty, they simply have to be rinsed off and they dry. Compared to what we generally purchase to distribute, these are definitely better. We launched this about a year ago, and we’re not seeing any of them come apart or complaints now. So it’s a win-win, for people who want to recycle [or] for people that want to help homeless people.”

According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency figures, Americans threw away 35.7 million tons of plastics in 2018, which accounted for 12% of municipal solid waste. Moore views the SAHA program as a smart environmental move to keep waste out of landfills, especially after the 2015 passage of Senate Bill 1241, which prohibited cities in Arizona from being able to ban or tax single-use plastic bags.

A 2022 report from Greenpeace found that only 5% of plastic bags are recycled “because plastic waste is extremely difficult to collect, virtually impossible to sort for recycling, environmentally harmful to reprocess, often made of and contaminated by toxic materials and not economical to recycle.”

One of the objections to Operation BedRoll was a concern among certain individuals that bedrolls would be left across the city, increasing litter. City of Sedona Communications Manager Lauren Browne confirmed that “to our knowledge, we have not seen a litter issue with these bedrolls.” 

Moore argued that if the bedrolls do become a litter issue, it is easier to clean up a single bedroll than 500 individual plastic bags.

A common misconception about groups such as SAHA is that projects such as this go together with affordable housing to encourage homelessness; Moore does not agree with that and said that homeless services such as Operation BedRoll make people healthier and safer.

“A project like this is not going to solve anything about homelessness,” Moore said. “Homeless services are completely different than affordable housing. The more we support our people, get them nutrition and clean and all these things that make us feel stronger. Than they start looking for housing, that’s when affordable housing comes in. But that has nothing to do with us, we get them up to that point.”

Treasure Hunt

Another opportunity to support SAHA is its Treasure Hunt fundraiser, which will be taking place throughout May until Saturday, June 17.

SAHA is creating a treasure map that leads to various yard sales in Sedona at which participants have agreed to donate between 50% and 100% of their proceeds to SAHA. A 100% donation is not required in order to accommodate participants who are selling big-ticket items, such as one entrant who is selling a Harley-Davidson. In exchange, SAHA will promote their yard sales and provide water and volunteers. There will also be a raffle that anyone who makes a purchase may enter; winners will be drawn on June 17.

Raffle prizes will include a wine or microbrewery tour for two, a 90-minute customized massage and a gift certificate to a fine dining Mexican restaurant.

Contact SedonaHomeless@gmail.com to register your yard sale for the treasure hunt and for additional information.

SAHA will reassess Operation BedRoll in June and decide then if the program will continue. Moore encouraged other local groups to learn more about how they can contribute to the wellness of Sedona’s homeless residents.

“Additional bedrolls are available for distribution with quite a few in different stages of production,” Moore said. 

The project is sponsored by Sedona Area Homeless Alliance and Gail Basham. Operation BedRoll meets on the third Thursday monthly for work sessions from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sedona Public Library, 3250 White Bear Road, in the Si Birch Community Room.