ELAINE Cook says she hit “rock bottom” when her landlord sold her home and she ended up living in a tent.
Limerick women’s refuge Thomond House, run by approved housing body Associated Charities Trust (ACT), stepped in and initially provided Cook with temporary accommodation.
This Thursday (June 12), Elaine, in her 50s, was officially given the keys to an affordable one-bedroom riverside apartment, located adjacent to the women’s refuge, at ACT’s newly constructed social housing development for people experiencing homelessness.
The 18-unit mixed-tenancy Mirth development, which provides long-term independent living, was constructed at a cost of €5million, including €4.5m from the State directly, plus a €400,000 donation from the JP McManus Charitable Trust.
“When they told me I had got the apartment, I broke down in tears. All I can say is, if you hang tough, good things do happen,” Elaine told this reporter.
“Living in a tent was absolutely horrendous. I was lying on cardboard in my tent trying to keep myself warm, it was horrendous, trying to be clean.”
Elaine believes that “nobody should be homeless in this day and age”, and said that people who are used to living in secure accommodation, particularly public servants/politicians tasked with tackling the housing crisis, “have no understanding” of the reality of homelessness.
“Until you’ve actually gone through it, you don’t understand what it’s like,” she says, calling for more social housing schemes to reduce homelessness.
Thanking ACT and staff at Thomond House for helping her through homelessness, Cook said now that she has a secure roof over her head, “everyday is a good day”.
Fellow resident, “Ger”, a man in his 70s who experienced a relationship break-up and struggled to find adequate accommodation as “a single older man”, praised the life-changing scheme: “The apartment here is luxurious compared to what I’ve been used to, and because I’ve had mental health issues over the course of my life, having this place is a great relief to me. I know now that this is here until they carry me out in a coffin.”
24-year-old Erin O’Shaughnessy and Teresa Nolan (59) are both residing in temporary accommodation at Thomond House refuge located across the street from the new Mirth development. Both remain locked out of long-term housing.
Last December, Erin suffered a cardiac arrest while sleeping rough during a storm.
The talented artist said that living without long-term accommodation is “scary” but overcoming her personal struggles has placed her in a better position to find a forever home.
Her message to the Department of Housing is to prioritise funding to build more affordable homes and ease pressure on the housing crisis.
“There’s really sad cases out there, and it breaks your heart to see it, but that’s our reality,” added Erin.
Life on the margins has left Teresa Nolan, of Ardnacrusha, struggling to hold to her dream of having her own home.
“I want to move on from Thomond House and get my own little place, something that would suit me, because I’ve got a walking aid. The refuge is a stepping stone to somewhere else,” said Teresa, who has resided at the refuge for a year and half waiting for adequate housing.
11 women and seven men have secured residency at the gated Mirth apartment block.
All residents must meet strict criteria, including that they be over 50, on the local authority housing list, pass an assessment for living independently, and they “be linked to a category of homelessness”.
