Christmas ‘just another day’ for Leeside’s homeless
‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’ they say, but for men and women experiencing homelessness in Cork, Christmas can feel like just another day of struggle, isolation, and survival.
It’s how Stephen described his experience of being homeless: “For so many years I felt totally left out of Christmas. It was just another day. I kept my head down and waited for it to pass.”
Stephen’s experience and many others like it are what Cork Simon’s outreach team members see on their rounds of Cork city each morning. People in doorways and alleyways. Some in tents, some with just a blanket or sleeping bag to protect them from the winter elements.
“Out on the street is no place for nobody,” said former rough sleeper, Richard. “It’s very, very bad. It’s tough. I wouldn’t wish it on nobody. You’re going around freezing, drowned wet. The next day you’re freezing, you’ve had no sleep. Your head is playing games with you.”
Cian likens his experience to a battle: “Every day was like being in a war zone with myself and with the world around me. Living out of a rucksack – walking the streets with no security for the night ahead. I had no sense of security or calmness. Chaos just ensued every day.”
The longer it continues, the more you begin to feel you have, as Cian puts it, “no future, no dream, no lust or zest for life or anything”.
Marie described it as a numbness. “This time last year I was a broken-down person. There was a numb feeling. I used to feel like a shell. Looking back, that’s from being on the streets.”
And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the stigma. “I’ve been looked down on because I was homeless,” Anne recalled of her experience. “It makes you feel you’re not worthy of life as much as other people would be.”
“We all fall. We all make mistakes,” added Martin.
A Cork Simon spokesperson said: “It’s something so many people here in Cork recognise. They don’t give up. They don’t judge. They believe in people. And that means we can be there for the Richards and Annes – and so many more when they have nowhere else to turn.
“Simon makes no judgement,” said Martin. “Without them, people like me would have neither direction nor hope. Simon builds you back up. A second chance.”
“I got a second life through Simon – a life I never had all along,” said Cian. He talks about how he now has “a sense of purpose, a sense of worth and security. Simon has my back. I'm able to journey through whatever the world throws at me knowing that I’ve got that security behind me.”
“If it wasn’t for you and Cork Simon, I wouldn’t be here today. No word of a lie,” said Stephen. “I don’t feel left out of anything anymore. I feel loved, and part of life.”
Cork Simon believes no one should be left out at Christmas, that everyone should feel part of the community, and that Christmas should never be just another day.