Population of Bandon, County Cork to become homeless

Shocking news emerging from Bandon, Co. Cork – a town with a population of just over 5,000 people. They’ve all just got word that they have until the end of next week to leave their home and find somewhere else to live.

Some will be lucky and have family they can go to. Some might not be so lucky and will have to seek state assistance to find temporary accommodation. It’s going to be hit and miss for them – the state of repair of some places on offer leaves a lot to be desired.

Some may not be so lucky – and might find themselves literally without a roof over their head.

With only a short few weeks to Christmas, this news couldn’t come at a worse time.

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Just imagine if something like this were actually to happen due to some emergency situation. A whole town told the news that they have to leave their home and find somewhere else to live. This would make headlines all around the world.

Tonight in Ireland it is estimated that 5,000 people are homeless. That’s the equivalent to the population of Bandon, Co. Cork. The majority are living in emergency hostels and B&B’s. Some will sleep in a doorway in freezing conditions.

One of the organisations working to end homelessness in Ireland is Focus Ireland. The founder of the organisation is Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy. She says:

“Home is a place in which to feel safe and secure, warm and dry. A place to rest, eat, sleep and entertain, find solitude, pray, love, laugh, argue and cry. A place to read a book share a meal, watch a television programme play an instrument do a bit of gardening, play with the children, get the housework done and the bills paid, be at ease with oneself and with friends and family, in safety and security without fear of interference or intrusion.

The need for a place like that is deep and urgent in all of us. The desire for a place called home is the deepest need in every human heart and perhaps the least recognised. And yet for many people, home is elusive, unattainable, beyond their grasp, because something has happened in their lives, some catastrophic event has separated them from home and they find it impossible to come home again, to secure a place of their own….

…. It is with people who are out of home that we in Focus Ireland have the privilege to work. All of them have something beautiful in their hearts, they may be a good bit troubled but they can be made whole again if someone looks, notices, pays attention to them and helps them.”

A place to feel safe and secure, warm and dry. A place to rest, eat, sleep and entertain, find solitude, pray, love, laugh, argue and cry.

It’s a basic human need and it’s a crying shame that 5,000 men, women and children on this little island won’t have this tonight. A whole town without a home.

And so, the recently published book, “Homepages. Tales from the Irish blogosphere” is fundraising to help work towards an Ireland where everyones need for a home is met. I recommend you buy the book but do a bit more and make your own donation to Focus Ireland as well. You can make a donation on their website. Every euro helps. I contributed a piece to the book along with many others. If you buy the book you will read all about me and my thieving, the jolly green giant and a German farmer with a killer dog.

Having put together an electronic book myself for the blog awards, I know how much work goes into something like this – so hats off to Catherine Brodigan for the mammoth task of putting it all together.

Hats off to Katharina Pommerien as well. She did a beautiful job on the cover design. A very talented illustrator as you will see from her portfolio.