Heartwarming Act: Friends Help a 71-Year-Old Woman on a Freezing Night

This touching story took place in Britain about three years ago, during the chilly month of December.

Three friends, walking home after a night out, suddenly came across an elderly woman in her 70s who immediately caught their eye. Outside, the cold was intense, yet all the poor woman had to protect herself were a few layers of plastic bags.

Something stirred in the hearts of these friends, and they just stopped beside her, beginning to ask about her situation. "We asked her personal questions like what she was doing there, who was helping her, and whether she was hungry or needed blankets," recalled one of the young men, Roger Hartigan.

"She told us that she had been living on the streets of Bristol for 18 years and that she had grown accustomed to it. No one really helped her stay off the streets. The three of us—Joe Rich, David Harrison, and Roger Hartigan—decided to give her some money for food and blankets, to help her withstand the harsh December cold.

"She looked frail and seemed very ill. She told us she was 71 and had nowhere to go. We knew we couldn't just return to our warm homes while she continued living like this in the cold," they recalled. They also decided to pay £145 for a nearby hotel so the elderly woman could feel 'normal' again.

"I think she was a bit shocked when we told her we found her a room in a hotel," explained Joe. "It's just a drop in the ocean, of course, because there are still many homeless people out there, but I'm glad we could at least make her happy for a day. I want to believe that means something," he concluded.