Cork charity distributing sleeping pods to homeless

A CORK organisation has distributed special sleeping pods to homeless people in Cork in the hope of protecting them against dangerous weather conditions.

Hazel Dennehy, who runs the Street Angels in Cork, heard of the narrow zip-up pods made from insulating and waterproof materials being used abroad.

After ordering her first batch online, she recently took to the streets with pods to share with the homeless community.

Street Angels is among the first charities in Ireland purchasing the items on a trial basis.

She had been liaising with another organisation — Help the Homeless, in Limerick — to make the sleeping pods a reality.

“They had used them before and we were really keen to do the same in Cork,” she said.

Ms Dennehy, who founded the organisation with her husband Michael in 2019, said she hopes the pods can serve as emergency aid for homeless people unable to find shelter on rough nights.

“Like anything they have their pros and cons. They are really more suitable for places where there is no traffic and few passers-by. However, we hope that they can go some way to protect people on the streets against the wind and rain.”

Describing the design, she said: “They weigh practically nothing and can be carried away on the person’s back making them very practical.

“They aren’t designed to be used 24 hours a day, but are particularly useful for anyone looking to get their head down at night.”

Ms Dennehy said their work during the pandemic has not just been confined to helping rough sleepers.

“We do a lot of work helping behind the scenes,” Ms Dennehy pointed out.

“Another side of our work focuses on getting people access to addiction centres and emergency accommodation.”

• To find out more about Street Angels or how to sponsor a sleeping pod, visit its Facebook page or email
  info@streetangels.ie.