A Home Is Too Much To Lose Diary of a Homeless Person
As part of their CSPE course, 1DON were studying the topic of homelessness. We looked at the loss of dignity which a homeless person suffers and the many, complex reasons why people end up on the streets. As part of the exercise the students were asked to take on the role of a homeless person and write a diary entry for a day in their life. Overall, the responses were some of the best I have ever read on this topic, with the students displaying an understanding of the complexity of homelessness and a genuine empathy for those less fortunate than ourselves. As always, when faced with a large number of excellent pieces of writing, choosing which to publish was very difficult, as many deserved this honour. However, in the end it was Declan’s line in the passage below about envying Angela which really struck a chord with me as it is a common response from homeless people and I think he really captures the despair of homelessness. Congratulations, Declan. Gearóidin O’Dwyer
At night I can hear is the whistle of the wind but can’t enjoy it as I’m freezing cold and can’t feel my feet. My only company now are the rats gnawing at my hands but I don’t have the strength to shoo them away. It doesn’t matter anyway because I’ve lost most of the feeling in my arms and can only move them when I need to. That’s what needles will do to you, I guess. It’s my fault that I’m here: … when you start gambling you don’t think of the consequences. Then, as I got deeper into debt I lost my house and everything I owned…and then I lost my wife, Angela. It was her mind…she wasn’t right living in the streets….she couldn’t handle the pain anymore so she jumped. They found her in the Liffey a day later. I didn’t go over, I just watched from afar. I think a tiny bit of me envied her. I still hear her voice calling me. That’s when I turned to heroin. It made the pain go away but it ruined my skin and now I have big black marks on my arms. It’s night now, and I’m cold…so cold. I can’t move my legs and I’m starting to shiver uncontrollably. I feel my fingers stiffen. I can tell it’s the cold taking over…and I think of Angela as death engulfs me. Declan Franks 1DON
Small Change Makes a Big Difference Group 6, 2nd Year CSPE class would like to thank all students, parents and staff who contributed their loose change to their collection for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. In total over €700 was raised and sent directly by our caretaker, Paul Ampeloquio, to people on the ground in the Philippines who are helping others to restart their lives. The collection raised much more money than expected....it looks like a certain supermarket is correct “Every little helps.” Thank you.
Amnesty Champions Freedom On Friday December 6th Newpark’s (student run) Amnesty International group went from class to class during lunchtime collecting signatures for a petition calling on Vladimir Putin (the Russian president) to remove new homophobic laws passed in Russia. These laws deny Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people of their rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to protest. One law Amnesty is focusing on is the AntiPropaganda among Minors Law which means it is illegal to tell people under 18 about homosexuality. Gay people are frequently discriminated against and attacked in Russia. So we decided we would take part in Amnesty’s campaign and it was a huge success. We’d like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped, and signed the petitions. We got 645 signatures! That’s fantastic. Also thanks to Mr Lowry, Mr Cookman, Ms O’Dwyer and Ms Brennan for helping us with the organisation necessary. This whole action was completely organised by the students, which is what we want to see! It’s too easy these days to sit back and ‘tut tut’ about how bad everything is and pretend like we have no influence. The truth is we do have influence and teenagers and young people have been at the forefront of human right movements throughout history. So it’s important for us to realise we can change things. For example, some twenty years ago it was illegal to be gay in Ireland and the idea of same-sex marriage wouldn’t have even been considered. Next year there will be a referendum held here on same-sex marriage. So change does happen— and we need to remember that. We meet in G1 at lunchtime most Thursdays. Keep an eye on the notices for updates on meetings. All Welcome. Méabh Hennelly 5CG
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