"My son was born into homelessness”.
Read one mother’s heart-breaking story.
My name is Laura and my family were homeless for two years. My youngest son Seán was born into homelessness.
Five of us were living in one small emergency accommodation hotel room. Jack is eight now and Sandra is six. They were sleeping on the bunkbeds. Seán slept in our bed. There is no room for a cot. No cooking facilities. You’re not even allowed a microwave. I had to heat Seán’s bottles in the kettle. We were living in a nightmare– but it’s the kids who suffered most.
‘’It’s the kids who have suffered the most’’
"Every night I watch the kids as they sleep and I start to panic. I start thinking ‘’what damage is this doing to them? What damage has it done already?’’
Sandra got very quiet. She used to be so bubbly. And then, back in June, she just stopped eating. I thought she was sick of all take away food, but it was more than that.
Then Jack started to get in trouble in school. When they went back after the lockdown the teachers told me he was getting into fights. He is only eight but he’s so angry all the time.
And then there’s Seán. My beautiful little boy. He is one now. But he’s still not crawling properly. There is no space. Not even for a walker or a highchair. I had to hold him all the time.
But, as soon as there were signs that Jack and Sandra were really struggling, Lisa, our Focus Ireland support worker, organised a Child Support worker to help them.
"Focus Ireland has made such a difference."
Please give a special gift today to support children experiencing homelessness.
It is thanks to you and everyone who donates to Focus Ireland that my kids were given help when they needed it most.
It’s great to see the kids doing better with the support of their Child Support Worker, Kelly but the only thing that will protect my children – and all the children in emergency accommodation – is a home.
That’s the only thing that matters. But that’s what Focus Ireland does. They help people find homes.
"The day we heard we had the house was so special."
The best part for me was putting Seán to sleep in his own room (see cute pic attached). I really can’t tell you how much that meant. I cried my eyes out that night.
Having a home of our own has changed everything. The kids are doing so much better at school. Even Jack has really settled – he was having such a tough time when we were in the hotel. He was so angry all the time. Now I have my little smiling boy back again. I’m even going back to college soon. I’ve decided I want to train to be a support worker. Because I have seen how much they can do.
When we were homeless every day was terrible, but Sundays were the worst. There was nothing open and nowhere we could bring the kids to get away from that room. But now we are home again, Sunday is the best day in the world.
Thank you so much. You may not know it but people look up to you. When you are homeless you feel so alone. You think that nobody understands or even cares. But you do care. That’s what is so amazing. For families like mine you are the last hope. And when you are homeless you cling to that hope every day.
"For families like mine you are the last hope."
So, please don’t ever stop. What you are doing is just so fantastic.
You really have no idea how much of a difference you are making. Please make a special donation in 2022.