Walking the streets of Dublin these days it’s become clear that there has been an increase in the level of homeless people on our streets.
Most people view the homeless as unsightly, as beggars, thieves, drug addicts, or as a wretched louse beyond help.
It’s this attitude towards homeless people that represents a tear in the fabric of modern society.
When we discard people who are in most need of our help we fail as a community and society hurts in the long run.
How we can walk by and ignore a person on the street without realising they suffer is beyond me. How people can laugh at their plight is not just cruel but immoral. Their daily agony is one of survival and despair. One in three homeless people in Ireland has attempted suicide, and this figure increases to one in two among those with a mental health condition.
The average age of death for homeless men is 42 and for homeless women 38. From 2011 to 2014, 16 homeless people died on the streets and 41 in homeless services.
If you can’t help at least be kind, don’t disrespect someone when you don’t know their story, and if you can help - please do.
“Some people look down on me because I am homeless. But who are they to judge? For I bleed the same blood, and I breathe the same air, so how can anyone judge me? For no one in life is perfect. So if you can help in any way, I will be very grateful” Steven Meaney (artist).
Most people view the homeless as unsightly, as beggars, thieves, drug addicts, or as a wretched louse beyond help.
It’s this attitude towards homeless people that represents a tear in the fabric of modern society.
When we discard people who are in most need of our help we fail as a community and society hurts in the long run.
How we can walk by and ignore a person on the street without realising they suffer is beyond me. How people can laugh at their plight is not just cruel but immoral. Their daily agony is one of survival and despair. One in three homeless people in Ireland has attempted suicide, and this figure increases to one in two among those with a mental health condition.
The average age of death for homeless men is 42 and for homeless women 38. From 2011 to 2014, 16 homeless people died on the streets and 41 in homeless services.
If you can’t help at least be kind, don’t disrespect someone when you don’t know their story, and if you can help - please do.
“Some people look down on me because I am homeless. But who are they to judge? For I bleed the same blood, and I breathe the same air, so how can anyone judge me? For no one in life is perfect. So if you can help in any way, I will be very grateful” Steven Meaney (artist).
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