‘Happy tears.’ Laid-off Coast women find life-saving way to help essential workers
It’s been more than 13 years since Rebecca Barbour has been back home on the Mississippi Coast.
But just days after the Long Beach native returned on March 8, life changed.
COVID-19 had reached the Magnolia State and Gov. Tate Reeves later declared a state emergency on March 14.
But Barbour and her best friend from high school have found a way to help protect their community from the pandemic.
“It was time for me to move back home,” Barbour said. “Everything happens for a reason.”
Barbour and Barbara-Lynn Matula have been friends for over 25 years, since they met as teens at Long Beach High School. Now, both are unemployed after the virus affected restaurants and Matula was laid off with pay from Island View Casino.
Matula has high-risk family members, and she started to worry as the number of coronavirus cases kept rising. Luckily, Barbour has been sewing for years, and she gladly agreed to make five masks for Matula’s family.
That’s when the two realized that the impact they could have. They wanted to donate masks to people who needed them most on the Coast.
“We started thinking about the Long Beach police department and the fire departments,” Matula said. “I made a post on Facebook to see if we could get word out.”
After posting on a local group page one night, the next morning she woke up to a message from the Long Beach business What’s Your Stitch, offering to help.
“That’s when it really blew up,” she said. “We were getting tagged and getting lots of messages. All of a sudden hospitals, nursing homes, hospice and home health [contacted us.] We were just like … wow.”
Within the first week, the two had hundreds of orders to fill. Across the country, healthcare workers are facing equipment shortages and have been turning to donations and homemade masks from community members.
“It literally started with me asking for five masks for my house, and now we have over 1,000,” Matula said.
When they first started it was just Barbour, Matula and their friend Donna Wood Carlat, who worked with Matula at the casino.
“She was the very first one,” Barb said. “She said ‘I don’t know how to sew, but I can cut. How can I help?’ She’s been here every day since.”
In a fabric-filled living room among unpacked moving boxes, Barbour focuses on sewing, Matula is on the phones and deliveries, and Carlat cuts fabric for at least 8 hours a day.
“We were all laid off,” Barbour said. “So until everything goes back to normal, this is our new normal. We all have our own spot in this as we’re fighting against this pandemic.”
But it didn’t stay a trio for long. As their mission was shared social media, more people reached out to help to make masks and donate materials.
“We had to make a Facebook group for the seamstresses,” Matula said. “They range from 9 years old to one woman who said she’s been sewing for 74 years, ever since she was in the 8th grade.”
“It’s amazing how much people have responded to the help,” Barbour said.
The response from those in their community has at times left them all in tears.
“Happy tears,” Matula said.
The group and family members deliver the masks themselves, bagging each one individually and keeping at safe social distances. There was one delivery Barbour said she couldn’t help but break down.
“Their faces just light up, their faces say it all. They’re so relieved for the extra protection.”
“Some places have nothing right now,” Matula said.
To keep up with all the orders, the three have worked for days straight, sometimes staying up to the wee hours of the morning to help meet orders. Being close, the two friends look out for each other and keep each other company through the long hours of making hundreds of masks.
“I honestly love every minute of it,” Barbour said. “It’s crazy at times, but it’s satisfying to know you’re doing what you can with what you can. We can’t thank everyone who has helped and donated enough. It’s been amazing to see this community come together.”
Although the coronavirus has changed their lives, it’s taught them a few lessons as well.
“This is the definition of taking nothing for granted,” Matula said.
“You never know what will happen tomorrow, I’ll take one day at a time.” Barbour said.
Want to help?
As of Monday, March 30, the group received more than 1,200 requests and completed just over 700 masks with new orders coming in every day.
If you’d like to donate, here’s what they immediately need:
Rotary scissors
¼ or ⅜ inch elastic
double-fold bias tape
Contact: Barbara-Lynn Matula at 228-265-2517 or Rebecca Barbour at 865-606-3651
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 12:00 AM.