Creating Comfort from Waste with Mercy Mats
Three thick mats lie on the floor of Canterfield of Kennesaw’s Independent Living Activity Room. The mats have intricate patterns and designs crocheted in browns, whites, and grays. They are 3’ x 6’ feet, thick as a carpet, waterproof, and soft as a yoga mat.
They are also made of plastic bags.
Marjie Shutz, in center, holding a Mercy Mat
Creating Mats for the Homeless
Canterfield of Kennesaw’s residents sit at long tables and begin the step-by-step work of creating mats: sorting plastic bags by color and flattening them perfectly, cutting bags into small thin strips, and creating a “plarn” (plastic yarn) ball to prepare for crocheting.
As the seniors work Marjie Schutz, the founder of Mercy Mats within The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, reflects on how this started.
She explains that during a Women in Faith meeting, the group veered from their topic of Pope Francis’s book, and began discussing mats made of plastic bags for the homeless. The idea was brought to the group from a parishioner who had recently moved from Florida and had done a similar program in her last church.
Since that conversation in 2016, Mercy Mats has created nearly 500 mats for the homeless.
Sorting and flattening bags
Creating “plarn” balls
A Labor of Love
Marjie works on the mats with a group from her church, The Catholic Church of the Transfiguration, every Friday from 12:00PM - 1:30PM. But, they are incredibly labor intensive to create. Each mat consists of 500-700 bags and takes 60-80 hours to complete. Right now, the number of plastic bags far outweighs the amount of people to create them. So, Canterfield of Kennesaw has decided to begin helping weekly.
Canterfield of Kennesaw was the first Senior Living Community to assist in the creation of Mercy Mats. East Cobb Senior Center on Sandy Plains followed shortly thereafter.
Ninety percent of Mercy Mats go to Give Homeless Hope. Marjie remarks that the mats will end up “right here on Bells Ferry Road.” The importance of what these mats provide for the homeless is not lost on anyone — it being sustainable is merely a plus.
Completed balls of “plarn” and strips of plastic
Learn how to work with the Mercy Mats here.
Mat examples
Mat detail