Warm Hands, Warm Hearts

One of the more striking differences between Dublin, Ireland and my home town of Murray, Kentucky is the number of homeless people on the streets. Michael and I typically encounter 4 or 5 people begging for spare change every day, regardless of which part of the city center our errands lead us.

Because the homeless shelters will only allow those who agree to take a drug test to use their facilities, many of the beggars who spend the nights outside are on the streets because they have declined a drug test (for whatever reason). Often, people who want to help are discouraged from giving change as there is no way to ensure it is not spent in a way that exacerbates the problem.

During the month of November, Michael and I received an exceptionally high heating bill and, in an effort to save money, spent 5 days only turning on the heat at night before we decided it was worth spending the extra money to live comfortably. (In Ireland, energy used between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am is half the price of energy used during the day.) While we had all the other comforts of living in a nice apartment, the cold alone made us miserable.

In the following days, I considered the homeless who slept on the streets in the freezing weather. Regardless of recreational activities, no human being should be subject to such conditions.  When I returned to the states during my brief Christmas trip, I began petitioning friends and relatives to donate hand warmers. When I returned to Ireland I had almost 250 to distribute.

Although the Rotary Club had already organized their own upcoming service projects, I was able to recruit many of my classmates and friends to help distribute the hand warmers. One friend was so excited about the idea she began collecting them herself and recruiting others, resulting in a much greater impact than I had anticipated.

Throughout the months of January and February (and a few evenings in March) we have been giving out hand warmers throughout the city.  People were initially confused, but once we explained what they were, most were enthusiastic.  One woman, who initially thought we were giving her cigarettes, told us hand warmers were even better.  Although there is less need for them now, I will be giving the few Hot Hands I have left to an Irish friend who has decided to take up the project next year and hopefully for many more years to come.