Stacy Morse knows how it feels to live without a home. She was forced to experience homelessness in 2007 when her house caught on fire and she had to live in a hotel.

Nine years later, Morse, administrative assistant for the College of Health and Human Sciences and crochet instructor, began to crochet mats for the homeless to give back to the community.

Eight more NIU community members joined Morse at noon on Thursday to crochet these mats among other items for the homeless in the Holmes Student Center, Room 506.

The mats are about six feet long and are made of cut up strands of approximately 1,000 plastic bags crocheted together. One mat take about 35 hours to make, Morse said.

Morse first implemented the crafting of these mats in summer camps. This summer, she hosted four sessions on campus where more than 30 community members came to crochet or knit items for donation. Pam Roesner, Human Resource Services administrative aid, helped organize the event.

“You see these plastic bags at Walmart and it’s cool to see what could happen to them,” Morse said.

NIU Police Dispatchers Lisa Nelson and Cindy Carlson collaborated with Morse, bringing with them “Scarfcrow”. The idea behind “Scarfcrow” was started in December by the two dispatchers when they began to knit winter accessories for anyone in need of them during their “quiet” night shift.

About ten students were able to keep warm due to these free items, so Carlson and Nelson decided to keep knitting and crocheting their leftover yarn.

The “Scarfcrow” is located in the lobby of the Department of Police and Public Safety.

Carlson and Nelson set a goal of making one mat per week. Morse said the group has made four mats so far.

The mats will go to the NIU Police Department, DeKalb Police Department, Hope Haven and any other organization that expresses interest in the mats.

Email Roesner at [email protected] to inquire about the mats or upcoming events.