Dubliners Hang Hundreds of Coats on a Bridge for the Homeless and Needy
Irish “elves” are keeping a city bridge stocked with coats for anyone who needs one
“If you need one, please take one. If you want to help, please hang one up,” say signs along Dublin’s Ha’penny Bridge.
A group of locals concerned about the growing problem in homelessness in the city started a page on Facebook called Warm for the Winter.
The organization asks people to sort through their wardrobes and donate any extra coats they don’t use anymore.
Volunteers hang them along the bridge, which is frequently crossed by homeless pedestrians, and restock them as they are claimed from October through January.
“Warm for Winter is a simple gesture from one human being to another … it allows people to access a warm jacket without the stigma,” a Facebook post says.
The jackets are not just for the homeless, but also those who can’t afford a new coat, the group says:
”There are people living in a accommodations who just can’t afford heat, along with substandard accommodations that don’t even have heating systems.”
Patrick Fryers, who started the Warm For Winter campaign, tells The Irish Post he hopes the movement will spread to other locations.
