Monday, 26 December 2011

Christmas post

Happy Christmas to all!

Back home for a week or so over the Xmas period. Plan on posting a bit more in the New Year (let's call it one of my resolutions!). Did encounter a few homeless people while I was running around getting a few last minute Christmas presents but didn't get to have a long chat with any of them. One guy was Hungarian and didn't seem to speak much English....once we'd established where he was from, conversation proved virtually impossible. Threw him a few coins and went on my way.

Then I came across a youngish girl openly stopping passersby on Nassau street and she made no secret of why she was homeless. Told me she'd been in care and then went on the streets. Also told me that she'd been raped while on the streets and had a child and that was why she was begging- to get some money together for them. Looking back on our meeting,she told me all this in such a nonchalant, blasé sort of way that I wasn't sure whether to believe her and didn't really process the significance of the statement. In retrospect, assuming it was true (and from my limited knowledge of life on the streets) it could very easily be, it's a fairly shocking and traumatic thing to happen but just underlines the vulnerability of those who are homeless.

On an optimistic note, it's nice to see that so many people in Ireland really care about the issue of homelessness and are trying to do something about it. Was chatting to a couple of the organisers of a group of students from Belvedere College who were staging a sleep-out on O'Connell Street in Dublin in order to fundraise for Focus Ireland and the Fr. Peter McVerry Trust. Great way to foster civic responsibility and an awareness of social justice issues. Really nice, friendly bunch of guys too.Asked how much of the money raised went directly to the charities and they told me 100% which was reassuring to hear. Also restores your faith in humanity in general when you see people being proactive in this way. May be something I look at myself in 2012...spending a night on the streets.... After all, there's not much use writing/blogging about it if I've never experienced it myself, is there? Anyway, just a thought for now......Might see if I can join the Belvedere boys next year....

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Down but not out

Yesterday evening I went out with the express intention of talking to another homeless person in order to update the blog as I haven't had a chance to post in a while.... I've been realising a couple of things as I go along with this project.....small things mainly and no doubt I'll learn a lot along the way too but a few major elements that have emerged already for me are a) the importance of that initial 'vibe' or feeling you get within minutes of talking to someone and b) what to say to someone to gain their trust and  c) the importance of personal safety, principally my own in this case since I'm working on my own on this.

I didn't have to lok very hard or for a long time and within minutes of getting into town, I met Jimmy  (*not his real name) on the Ha'penny Bridge beside the entrance to Temple Bar along the Quays. It's one of those spots that you are guaranteed to find someone tapping despite it being one of the most exposed (to the elements) bridges in Dublin and it seems like sheer madness at times for anyone to pick this spot to beg. However, I guess there's some logic to it as there's certainly plenty of footfall along it although you'd wonder how many people that cross it would actually stop to talk to or toss a few coins to the people begging/tapping on the bridge.

Anyway, I spotted Jimmy, who was sitting with his back against the bridge, immediately and asked him if he'd like to go to the Centra shop across the road which I'd scoped out earlier for a cup of tea/hot chocolate. I gave him what by now is becoming my 'spiel' ie. that I wanted to ask him a couple of questions, that I wasn't a member of the Garda Síochána or a journalist and that I simply wanted to talk to him and learn about his experience of homelessness for my blog.
Anyway, Jimmy clearly didn't have much else to do and must have figured that he'd nothing to lose by talking to me and agreed to come for a cup of tea with me pretty willingly although he did tell me he had to try and get into a hostel before 8 p.m. (seems this is roughly around the time they stop admitting people) and he'd have a 20 minute walk to get to the hostel so he'd have to go around twenty to 8. This suited me fine as I had a dance class at 8 anyway and was just killing time in a productive way, in a manner of speaking.

My first impressions of Jimmy were that he was young (by no means the youngest person I've ever seen tapping but young nonetheless), that he seemed fairly bright and together and that he was pretty forthcoming. I told him that I would not write about anything he didn't want me to mention and he assured me saying, "Don't worry, I'll let you know if any of the questions are too intrusive".  As we walked into the Centra cafe together  (me slightly nervous admittedly as it was the first time I'd ever gone for coffee with a homeless person), he spotted someone he knew at the coffee machine. As  we were pouring our tea, the person he knew (an older guy) greeted him and I though I heard him ask Jimmy " Are you looking?" As it turned out, I had heard correctly and Jimmy referred to it later on during our conversation when I asked him what the toughest aspect of being homeless was . He replied, "staying clean" and said "You heard what that guy asked me".

So Jimmy it seemed, was a former heroin addict. He told me he'd been clean a year and was on methadone and attending a clinic in Castle Street. He was from Swords and had been on heroin since he was 14 and was kicked out of home by his Ma as a result. He had been living with his on-off girlfriend (though it was now very definitely off) in Naas but had no friends in Dublin he could stay with. When I asked him about this, he said,"There are no friends on the streets, only acquaintances". From this I inferred that he'd more or less cut all ties with previous 'friends' whom may also have been addicts, which must be a difficult thing to do in some ways. When I told him that he seemed like a bright enough guy and asked him if he had ever worked or had a trade, he told me he spent 2 years training as a chef but didn't finish the training (he didn't elaborate on the reasons for this and I didn't ask but presumably  it was related to his heroin addiction). He would love to get a job now he said but it wasn't that easy. When I enquired as to whether he was able to claim any sort of welfare benefits, he told me that there was a homeless payment of some sort which he could claim. When I asked him what his worst experience of being homeless was, he told me about a night when he was attacked and beaten up by 3 guys who spotted him tapping outside of the pub they had been in. I was fairly shocked by this but guess it's kind of an 'occupational hazard' particularly here in Dublin. I enquired as to whether the men were staff working in the pub but he told me that they were just a couple of guys who'd been drinking in the pub....At this point in the conversation, Jimmy was making moves to go and reminded me that he had to try get into a hostel that night. I asked him what he did if he couldn't get in anywhere. He replied that he just walked around the streets all night as the streets were too dangerous to sleep on.....

Thursday, 1 December 2011

Chance meetings

Yesterday was a day of torrential downpours. The rain wasn't too bad in the morning but grew heavier in the late afternoon and combined with the gale force winds made for miserable conditions later on that evening. You'd have really felt sorry for anyone who had to be out in that weather or was homeless and as myself and a friend walked towards Temple Bar on our way to a swing dance class and past the group camped outside the Central Bank (an off shoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement), I couldn't help but be impressed by the fact that they were still there (several weeks later) and  feel sorry for them in their makeshift camp with tents that looked  pretty unsuited to the conditions.

Later on that evening, emerging from the class into the gloomy evening and the driving rain, I ducked into a doorway near my bus stop where I found myself standing next to a man, who judging by his appearance, which resembled that of a tramp-dirty, smelly, unshaven etc.- and the strong odour  of drink coming from him, was an alcoholic and /or homeless. I didn't want to ask him outright but in the ensuing conversation, he mentioned that he'd been homeless for six or seven years. He was remarkably lucid, good humoured and chatty and said he was looking forward to getting out of the rain and "having a can" when he got home.When I enquired as to where "home"was, he mentioned that he was staying in a sheltered housing unit for men in the Summerhill area of the city. Though he spoke with a strong Dublin accent, he told me that originally he was from Westmeath but that in Dublin, people thought he sounded like he was from the country and when he was in Westmeath, they thought that he sounded like a real Dub!

I didn't want to pry but I was interested to hear about his experience of being homeless and asked him what his experience of the homeless hostels he'd stayed in had been like. He mentioned that often there were 4-6 people in a room so there was very little privacy and that the general practice was to try to fill up the rooms as much as possible. Often, he said, people chose to stay on the streets because they didn't want to go into the hostels. When I enquired as to why, he told me that generally it was because of the problems that arose with so little privacy and the frustrations that arose from the situation-tensions leading to fights breaking out, stealing, drug problems and snoring of course! Some nights he told me the Night Bus (a bus which brings homeless service users to hostels/shelters when beds are available) would come along and pick him up and bring him to a hostel. Other  nights, there might not be any beds available and the Night Bus would simply turn up, supply him with a sleeping bag and drive off......

As we were talking, I wondered how old he was. I suspected he was in his mid 50s but he could just as easily have been in his late 40s. It was hard to know. Life on the streets and alcoholism had clearly taken their toll on his health and physical appearance as he was quite thin and his face was pretty lined. His teeth were in appalling condition and were black and rotten looking. We continued our conversation on the bus home (it turned out he was taking the 123, as was I) and chatted generally about things. He seemed sweet. When it came to his stop, he turned to me and asked my name and said maybe he'd see me again. I wondered if he was lonely. As he was getting off the bus, he looked over his shoulder and gave me a timid sort of wave. I wonder if I will see him again....







Sunday, 27 November 2011

Update

Didnt get into town much last week as was busy jobhunting and then was laid up with a bad cold.... Feeling much better now so hopefully will get a chance to talk to a few people this week

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Unknown Romanian woman and Seán (*not his real name)

Yesterday I was wandering around the city centre in the afternoon(I'd been attending a course earlier that day for unemployed professionals of which I am myself one at this moment in time) and spotted someone tapping on O'Connell Bridge. It appeared to be at first glance a Romanian woman as she was pretty dark skinned and was wearing the long skirt and head scarf that you usually see the Roma women in. I stopped walking for a moment, leaned against the bridge and just observed her for a few moments and tried to see the world from her vantage point. All I saw was a blur of legs and people walking past. Nobody stopped. Normally I would probably have been the same but since I decided to embark on this project, I figured it would be hypocritical  not to at least attempt to talk to her. So I did. I walked up to her, introduced myself and asked her what her name was. Alas, it appeared she did not speak any English. However, she did seem to understand when I was asking her where she was from and said something that sounded like "Romania". I thought perhaps she might be suspicious of my motives  and like Jacinta before her, might assume I was a bangarda or someone attempting to move her on so I attempted to explain that I only wanted to ask her a few questions but either she really didn't speak English or she was a pretty good actress. At any rate, it seemed pointless to try and continue talking to her so I walked on.

Later on I came across someone else. This time it was a guy and he was gaunt looking and approaching pedestrians directly outside Stephen's Green Shopping centre and asking them for money. Determined to try and engage with someone else, I walked up to him, introduced myself and explained that I wanted to ask him a few questions. The minute I mentioned "questions", he seemed defensive and said "Look love, I'm not really in the mood today. I'm on methadone and I'm not really in the right frame of mind just now". I explained once again that I wasn't a guard and he seemed relieved and said "Oh I thought you were as I've been arrested before for tapping". Once he knew I wasn't a guard he was more inclined to converse and volunteered that he was from Sligo and his name was Seán.  He mentioned that he'd been off heroin for 6 months and when I explained that I wanted to just chat to him and find out a few things, he was much friendlier, gave me his number and said that he would like to talk to me and that he'd be in town at the same place the following evening around 6.He seemed like a decent enough chap, he was polite and courteous at any rate.

Admittedly I was skeptical as to whether or not the number was even a real number but in my naivety, I tried calling him this evening and actually got through. However, I hung up immediately before the phone was asnswered as I realised he possibly now had my number which might not be such a good idea.  In fact, as soon as I hung up he rang me back straight away and asked who I was. I explained that we'd met yesterday and he said that he rang back immediately as he thought it might be his mother. I had initially been ringing him to explain that I wasn't going to be able to make it this evening for our chat but he pre-empted me and apologised saying that  he was sorry he wouldn't be able to meet me that evening as he'd been arrested for begging ('tapping') and was right at that moment in the Garda station. He didn't sound particularly worried-in fact he seemed fairly nonchalant and told me that they'd just hold him overnight and then he'd be released.He reiterated that he was keen to talk to me and asked if another time would do. I suggested Monday and said I would give him a ring.
 Will try meet him again this week and see what other information I can find out about him.....was sily to ring him from my personal number though. Note to self: May now need to change phone number!!!

Sunday, 6 November 2011

My first Post

Hey folks and welcome!

The inspiration for this blog

The idea for this blog came to me a number of years ago when I was volunteering with the Dublin Simon Community on the Soup Run project.  I am not currently volunteering with Dublin Simon Community but am now volunteering part-time with the St Vincent De Paul, who also do sterling work to combat poverty and homelessness.For anyone who might be unfamiliar with  Dublin Simon Community and that particular project, it's a charity organisation that works to relieve homelessness in Ireland. It's pretty well established here and there are a number of services that they provide to homeless clients such as emergency food and accomodation, supported housing and treatment services and service user participation which seeks to involve service users (ie. homeless) in the community.

About Me

My background is in customer service, languages and teaching. A mixed bag you might say but essentially, all involve dealing with people. I have worked as a teacher for the past 4 years  and strongly believe in the importance of education and its power to transform peoples lives but am not sure it's my vocation. As a good friend once said to me," Do something you love and you'll never have to work a day of your life". That, in a nutshell sums up my personal quest. I want to work for an organisation and a cause that I feel passionate about and that inspires me.


Homelessness in general

Homelessness is an emotive issue and one that bothers me and many other people. I use the word "bothers" deliberately because every time I walk past someone on the street who is clearly homeless (and I appreciate the fact that there are probably lots of 'pseudo'homeless people out there too taking advantage of peoples naivety and goodwill), it "bothers" me at a fundamental level. Depending on my own mood when I'm walking past this person, I inevitably feel either saddened, annoyed, indignant or outraged. Rarely do I walk past someone "tapping" (begging) without feeling some sort of emotion.  It's not an original thought at all but there is something fundamentally wrong with a society that allows so many people to be homeless particularly since we are, relatively speaking, an affluent country.


What I hope to learn


 This is a personal project.The idea behind this blog is to learn more about the issue of homelessness in Ireland, the reasons for it and the services that are available to homeless people.  I want to learn about homeless peoples' experience of those services and I also want to dispel some of the myths and preconceptions about homelessness  such as the assumption that all homeless people are alcoholics and drug addicts, that they are lazy and are "wasters" and that it is their own fault that they are homeless. From my own (limited) experience from working as a part time volunteer with Dublin Simon Community some years ago, what I found was that there are of course people who have eneded up homeless as a result of substance abuse and crime  but often  it is a number of issues as opposed  to one single issue that causes someone to end up on the streets. Family conflict, relationship breakdown, mental health issues and an inabilty to manage their own lives and make good choices are often some of the reasons that individuals become homeless.
Anyway, enough of that....what you'll find in this blog is a brief synopsis of the situations and stories behind homeless people I've spoken to. I've mainly been interested in acquiring some facts about their lives, how they became homeless and their experience of services in this country. . I am giving myself a simple target to start with- to talk to at least one homeless person every time I am in the city centre. I will try to engage them and find out a little bit about them. The first person I will start with will be Jacinta, I met her today

Friday, 4 November 2011

Fionnuala's Story (*not her real name)

Fionnuala was the first person I spoke to and questioned when I decided to embark on this personal project. I walked over O’Connell Bridge on a dark November evening and encountered her sitting against the wall wrapped up in a sleeping bag and wearing gloves which she informed me had been donated by the Dublin Simon Community rough sleeper team. She looked pretty young and was initially sceptical when I asked her if I could ask her some questions. In fact, she told me, in a croaky voice that she had a sore throat and couldn't speak. However, I offered to show her my questions if she would like and assured her that I wasn’t a Guard or a journalist, just a concerned citizen. This appeared  to reassure her and  cure her sore throat (!) and she then seemed pretty willing to answer my questions though perhaps some of the ‘facts’ may need to be taken with a pinch of salt! 

She told me that she was from Clonmel, Co Tipperary and was 20 years old.She had completed secondary school but never went on to further education  She is a recovering heroin addict and is now on methadone.  Although there is a clinic in Tipperary that she could attend, apparently the waiting list was approximately 18 months so herself and her partner moved to Dublin where they had been staying in a hostel in Blessington Street for some time. She had been some months in Dublin and had only officially been ‘homeless’ for 2 weeks. When I asked her to clarify that for me, she explained that she meant ‘sleeping out’.  When I pressed her as to why she was on the streets, she told me that it was because of a situation that arose when herself and her partner lost the lease on the flat that they had been staying in Cabra.  According to  her, she had to go to a funeral for a number of days and left the rent (€120) with the caretaker to give to the landlord in their absence. When herself and her partner returned from the funeral, new tenants had moved in and the landlord had gotten rid of all their stuff.  She told me that they never got the 120 euros back.

When I enquired as to whether or not she was able to claim social welfare, she informed me that she had up until she lost her place in Cabra. She is not able (or not willing) to return to Tipperary and move back home due to “family problems”. Her mother left her at the age of 3 and her father did not approve of her Protestant boyfriend or her drug problem! She has been moved on by the Gardaí on one or two occasions and was in court recently for “tapping” (begging) and got a warning from the judge. She said the court was full of Romanians and Dubliners and that it was amazing that Irish people would give money to Romanians but “not their own”

When I asked her what services she had linked in with, she mentioned that she had availed of the night bus but that it had since been stopped since the 18th of September (will have to verify this information) and that she had stayed in the homeless shelter in Capel Street.