Penny Dinners charity frustrated by handling of cost-of-living crisis

CAITRÍONA Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners has expressed her frustration with the Government’s handling of the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Speaking this week as the National Lottery hosted a live event celebrating the people right at the heart of Cork’s Community and Charity Sector she discussed the challenges that exist for one of Cork’s oldest charity organisations.

Currently helping between 7,000 and 8,000 people per week, Ms Twomey said she is crying out for Government bodies to recognise the efforts that the Cork charity is making to help those in worrying situations.

“Giving people dignity is vital – anyone can be down on their luck”, she said. “There are big challenges right now and we are seeing an increased demand for our services.”

She asked: “When a person ends up homeless, they are broken. Then it goes on and on and they get more broken. We are asking, how far does a person have to go for the Government to realise that they are broken?”

She expressed her frustration at, what she believes is, millions of euro thrown down the drain in paperwork and planning committees that fail to wield the results that her down to earth, non-judgemental methods have proved to provide.

Ms Twomey continued: “We [Penny Dinners] get a lot of things right. We have one house to help people with addiction. There are six people there and they are all clean now because we wrap that support around them. They volunteer at Penny Dinners, and they run the recovery groups, they are giving back to society. The lads that are in the house are thriving and have rebuilt their lives.”

Last year, Cork Penny Dinners gave out 9,000 hampers at Christmas worth €100, including 70 hampers alone on Christmas Day.

“No questions asked, no judgement made, that’s our tagline,” said Ms Twomey. 

“When people are looking for food, they feel they are at the lowest rung, but we tell people not to worry, they have done the right thing by coming. People come with pain and tears, they will walk away feeling better”, she added.

Host Gráinne Seoige, was joined on stage at this week’s event from the National Lottery to celebrate the Cork community and charity sector by some of Cork’s most inspiring volunteers, including Karen O’Mahony, CEO of the Rainbow Club and Graham Clifford, Founder of Sanctuary Runners, as well as Penny Dinners’ Caitríona Twomey.