patrick.net

One woman's college class project to design coats that double as sleeping bags for the homeless has become a nonprofit initiative to employ and empower the homeless population of Detroit, and maybe even the world.

The Empowerment Plan began in 2010 as an idea to fulfill Veronika Scott's assignment for her product-design class at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

The Empowerment Plan employs 13 former and current homeless people to manufacture its coats. The organization only hires homeless single parents without a violent crime record. Employees are paid well above the minimum wage in Michigan and are given microloans.