HARRISBURG, Pa. (NewsNation Now) — A Pennsylvania woman is on a mission to make a change in her community after losing a loved one.
Alicia Sipe is making care packages to deliver to people experiencing homelessness.
“I wanted to give back to the people that are struggling because it’s not easy, you know,” Sipe said.
She’s doing it in memory of her brother Robby, who struggled with addiction for years before dying of a heroin overdose in May.
“The day that I found him dead, I stood at the doorway and just froze actually. And my mom and my husband are the ones that tried to revive him, Narcaned him, but we were just too late,” she said.
It’s a loss Sipe is still trying to cope with.
“I wake up every day and cry, thinking of him and wishing he could be here with his family,” Sipe said. “It’s a struggle every day. Every day. If I could go and grab him back from heaven I’d bring him back, but I can’t.”
Now, she’s turning her grief into action.
“I just wanted to start something in my brother’s name, to remember him, because he’s not the only one that suffers with addiction,” Sipe said.
She’s collecting toiletries, clothing, and snacks to give to people suffering from homelessness. A group where many people face the same challenges with addiction that her brother did.
“It means a lot to me to be able to give back, and to help, and just to let them know that, hey there’s somebody that cares about you. Because a lot of times they don’t think that we care,” Sipe said. “Like right now my brother’s probably like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe that there’s are all of these people that really cared about me.’”
Sipe does already work with the homeless through the non-profit group Missions of Mercy. If you want to help her with these care packages you can donate directly to them.