Homeless man in limbo as he attempts to get social housing

A HOMELESS man who now works in the cafe where he slept for seven months has voiced frustration at having no place to live, despite ongoing efforts to improve his life, and called for more government intervention to tackle homelessness.

Gary O’Brien has been homeless in Cork for 15 years. Over the years he has slept everywhere from doorways to tents and hostels. He said issues around alcohol addiction contributed to his spiral into homelessness.

The 38-year-old is now working in the Haven cafe in Cork city as part of a community employment scheme, hoping to turn his life around.

The cafe — a registered Christian Trust charity founded in 2007 — provided him with shelter there for seven months during the first lockdown.

Hazel Dennehy, from the Street Angels homeless group in Cork, has also been playing an instrumental part in helping Gary get back on his feet.

The organisation is funding the hostel where he currently stays through donations from the public.

The 38-year-old said he finds the environment in homeless shelters difficult.

“I’m going into places where I am seeing addiction but this is still better than sleeping in a doorway.”

'If you get three hours sleep you are very lucky'

Describing life on the streets, he said: “Every night on the street is the same. You don’t get sleep. The obvious dangers are the people on the streets. I have to find somewhere off the beaten track. If you get three hours sleep you are very lucky.

“One day while sleeping in broad daylight I had the runners robbed off my feet. I was out cold because I didn’t even feel them coming off my feet. It was one of those days where I hadn’t had much sleep the night before. I later saw them wrapped around telephone wires. This made it worse because I realised they had not been taken for any purpose other than pure messing.

“If you make a police report then you’re known as a ‘rat’. You know everyone in the city which means it’s not safe.”

The Kerry native has spent much of his time living in tents.

“There are always people moving you on, whether that’s security looking after a building or the gardaí,” he said.

“We are just constantly being told to move along like we don’t even matter. I’ve had about 50 tents taken from me. I even had my fishing rod taken from me, which was the only thing that took me away from the havoc.”

He explained that for many living on the street, alcoholism is an important coping mechanism.

“A lot of the time we drink just to be able to sleep. Ninety percent of people don’t acknowledge you’re there. There are people who offer me money but I don’t like to take it as there’s a risk I may be caught for begging.”

Gary feels he is now in limbo as he attempts to make it onto the social housing list.

“I was born in Kerry but have been in Cork since my children were around 12,” he said.

“They are 21 and 18 now so I’ve effectively been left in limbo between two councils.

“I have to get an affidavit drawn up — just so I can prove I’ve been in my kids’ life — to get a housing application form.

RED TAPE

“Right now I feel like I’m being held back by a lot of red tape. You have to be on the list before you can get any assistance which has made things very difficult.”

Cork City Council said it could not discuss individual cases but said “the process for the assessment of any applications for social housing support to any local authority in Ireland is specified in the national Social Housing Assessment Regulations of 2011.

“The regulations specify that any client may apply for social housing support to one housing authority only,” a spokesperson said.

“Applicants can prove local connection by submitting evidence of residing in Cork City Council’s administrative area for a continuous period of five years; being in employment within 15km of the city area; being in full-time education here; or having a relative (parent, child, or sibling) residing here for a minimum period of two years who has a close link with the applicant in the form of a commitment or dependence.”

Gary would like it to be more straightforward for people to access social housing and urged the government to take action to tackle the housing crisis.

“At the moment we are all just the width of a fag paper away from homelessness,” he said.

“Everyone is having difficulties and something needs to change before even more people are left on the streets.”

Cork City Council also said its Allocations Team is always available, by way of phone or email, to discuss any applicant’s specific case to help resolve identified issues as appropriate.