When Eastern Michigan University student Emily Keyes broke her ankle in 2011, she had no idea how difficult it would be to get around on campus with a backpack full of books and a set of crutches.
“I just needed someone to carry my things and help me open doors,” Keyes said. “I didn’t know where to turn to.”
After unsuccessfully reaching out to the Disability Resource Center and every other resource she could think of, Keyes discovered there were no on-campus services for students in her position. All she managed to obtain was an accommodation letter allowing her to be a few minutes late to her classes.
Keyes, a senior individualized study major, was able to enlist the help of her friends to get around campus during her recovery, but her experience had started a conversation among her circle.
“I’ve seen people carrying bags in their mouth or trying to shove things between their arm and the crutch,” Keyes said. “I’ve heard of people having to drop out of school altogether because their injuries make it too difficult for them to get around campus.”
Marissa Barran, a senior biology major and friend of Keyes, said, “We asked why nothing existed on campus to help out students with temporary disabilities, and we learned that it needed to be a student-created effort.”
It was from this conversation a new student organization called Helping Hearts was born.
Helping Hearts is an organization of volunteers, co-founded by Keyes and Barran, dedicated to simplifying the life of students who have accessibility issues on campus, whether from permanent or temporary disabilities.
Volunteers can offer their services whenever they have time, and are compensated with Learning Beyond the Classroom credit and volunteer hours.
“We’ll push wheelchairs, carry backpacks, open doors and do anything we can do to make it easier for these students to get around campus,” Barran said. “And this includes pregnant women and students with invisible disabilities, too, like serious back pain.”
While the idea for Helping Hearts came to Keyes and Barran easily enough, turning that idea into a reality proved a lot more complicated than either of them thought.
Keyes spent the majority of last summer meeting with lawyers and campus officials to work out potential liability issues. The lengthiest process of getting the organization off of the ground was drafting the waiver.
“There were so many hoops we had to jump through,” Keyes said.
In addition to a liability waiver, the co-founders also had to work with occupational therapists on drafting training procedures volunteers are required to complete for their own safety as well, as the safety of the students they are assisting.
“It was a lot of work, but it was so worth it,” Barran said. “There is definitely a need for this on campus.”
Now that Keyes and Barran have worked out all of the legal details, Helping Hearts is ready to start enlisting volunteers and is seeking out students in need of assistance.
“Right now we’re trying to get the word out,” Keyes said. “We’ve had a lot of interest so far.”
Students needing assistance or who are interested in volunteering can contact Helping Hearts via Facebook at www.facebook.com/HelpingHeartsEMU, or by emailing the organization at helpingheartsemu@gmail.com.
