Update in kindness drawers in Belfast for the homeless

As day 150 approaches the kindness drawers in Belfast are still serving their purpose; the well intentioned naysayers who anticipated that they would be abused and damaged or destroyed have been, thankfully, proven wrong. This is a testament to the good people of Belfast and also the good people of the wider Northern Ireland society who have come from far and wide to restock the drawers.

A common question asked was, “what if someone steals from them?” The answer is that if someone feels the need to steal from a person sleeping on the street then they are most likely also to be in need of help.
Clear evidence of the support shown for Belfast’s rough sleepers was following the tragedy of a female street sleeper being found dead in a shop door way- the fifth such death of a homeless citizen in 2016- the drawers received a stark increase in use; being filled with items of clothing and toiletries suitable for women.
Following the snow fall in the early part of the year, on that morning the drawers were totally emptied of warm comfortable clothing as people who obviously needed heat availed of what was there; by evening however the drawers were replenished by the public without prompt or fanfare. These kindness drawers have shown that random acts of kindness and thought for others can be both passive and productive, they also confirmed what we already believed; that the people of Northern Ireland are a great and kind people indeed.