Waterford News And Star ★ Written by Shannon Sweeney. Recommended by Christy Walsh.
When you think about homeless families, does a picture of Mom, Dad and 2.5 children come to mind?
If so, then us too.
But when the Waterford News and Star visited the Waterford Helping the Homeless unit, that’s not what we found.
Catherine and Jack are a mother and son who are both sleeping rough.
Eight and a half months ago, Catherine and Jack were renting a double room in a house with 13 people for €1000 a month from an unregistered landlord.
When the rent went up, mother and son had no choice but to leave their home.
So, we tried to find Jack a room. We did find a room, not contracted, so I started doing the 9 to 9 [a council service that provides beds only for the night] because I felt like at least he was okay. I could do the 9-9. And I did that for eight and a half months, and he ended up in the same boat.
“It’s the same cycle,” said Catherine.
Jack had become homeless 12 days before we spoke to him and his mother.
Continue @ Waterford News And Star.
When you think about homeless families, does a picture of Mom, Dad and 2.5 children come to mind? <-----No, and I will explain why later.
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