Coats On The Ha’penny Bridge In Dublin For The Homeless

When I saw this on Facebook, it warmed my heart so much.  A man by the name of Patrick Fryers came up with a brilliant idea to help the homeless in Dublin this week. His idea came after the shocking number of the homeless population was released on Tuesday that a record of 10,514 people are homeless in Ireland and 3,800 are children. So what was Frank’s idea? To hang coats on the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin for the homeless hoping to keep them a little warmer this winter. The Ha’penny Bridge, officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Fryers has been placing signs on the bridge to encourage people to take part in the spirit of giving. The sign reads “If you need one, then please take one. If you want to help, please hang one up. #warmforwinter”.  Fryers said “I’ll keep sticking them up and it is just the same thing if you need one, take one and if you want to help, hang one up,” Think about it.  Hanging up one jacket is nothing. But, to someone freezing, it is a lifesaver. Whether it’s from their closets or brand new from the store, what an easy thing to do. The power of social media has made this even bigger. It’s drawn so much attention to this community’s wonderful act of kindness that other towns and cities are doing also. See the beauty here? The domino effect of kindness is so awesome. Can you imagine how amazing it would be if this gesture was repeated all over the country? The widely shared story and pictures of the coats on the bridge was shared by The Irishtown House Pub’s Facebook page. Maybe if it continues to get picked up shared this will continue to help many others. A sign next to the jackets says: “If you need one, then please take one. If you want to help, please hang one up. #warmforwinter”

If you need one, take one and if you want to help, hang one up.   Mr. Fryers.