A Port Elizabeth-born caregiver and house mother at Lake Farm Centre is bringing hope to her local community and helping the environment all at once.

Suzette Hendricks has been recycling plastic bags and crocheting them into sleeping mats for the homeless.

Suzette said the idea came to her while watching videos on YouTube one night.  She came across a tutorial on how to crochet sleeping mats from plastic bags and was inspired to start her mission to provide sleeper mats to homeless people in the Bay.

The mats are said to be very light and very warm, which is especially useful during cold winter nights.

Lake Farm is a registered home for 90 intellectually disabled adult residents. The residents live and work at Lake Farm contributing to the upkeep and maintenance.

Suzette and residents at the home have since been making and distributing the mats.