A 71-year-old Dublin man has told how he will be homeless for Christmas.
The man, identified only as Frank, recalled how he still has to work so that he can keep a roof over his head – and how items like milk and bread are now considered luxuries for him.
He had been renting his two-bed terraced home for seven years, but his landlord evicted him – telling Frank that he had to be out by next week.
He said on RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland:
‘This is my home for the next week or so and after that it’s gone, as someone else told me someone else’s house is my home.
“It’s just the way it fell, that’s the circumstances and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Frank said that his rent of €1250 – and his weekly pension of €150 – means that he often ends up working “a few odd jobs here and there, whatever I can get.”
He added:
“Whatever I get is to pay the rent and anything else covers food, electricity else and whatever else I need.
“I’m running to standstill, some weeks I don’t have work and other weeks the weather is against me.
“Thank God though, I’ve been lucky for the past twelve years or so and there are other people who are worse off than I am.
“At least I can get out of bed in the morning but I fear the day I can’t get out of bed to make money and pay.”
And while Frank is set to be homeless this holiday season, the Dubliner remains optimistic about the future – and that he will have a roof over his head soon.
Explaining how he still believes in the system, he added:
“I don’t think it’s uncertain, like a famous person at Christmas, there’ll be a room in the stable, I’ll get a bed, I do believe that will happen.
“They have said hopefully I’ll get a B&B, they said that because of my age a B&B is more suitable than a hostel or a hotel.
“I don’t know if I’d be allowed to stay in the B&B during the day, it’s all new ground to me.
“I hope for Christmas I’ll be somewhere with a roof over my head and then in January I hope I’ll have a home.”
Frank has been approved for the Housing Assistant Payment (HAP) scheme, but reckons his age and the surging rent prices have been preventing him from finding somewhere new to live.
He told the programme that he has been looking around and gone to see a few places, but hasn’t heard back from landlords.
He added:
“I have been looking around, I’ve tried to see can I get anywhere for €600 but they just laugh at me.
“For a single bed apartment, you’re looking at anywhere from €1200, so double my pension and I have to get €600 a month just for a roof over my head.
“Anything like a bottle of milk and a loaf is extra.”
And while Frank, who has been divorced for 25 years, says he is no longer in contact with his family, some of his friends know about his housing situation.
The 71-year-old said that one has offered him somewhere to stay as temporarily, but he doesn’t want to burden them as the person has a young family.
He emphasised that he has been grateful for the assistance and support from Dublin City Council and various other charities.
He explained:
“All the organisations like Alone, The Peter McVerry Trust, the Simon Community, Focus Ireland and so on, they are all working together but they must pick out who is the priority, so where am I on the list?
“I’m on the list but I’m not on the top or on the bottom.
“I’m not saying that the TDs do nothing, because they are listening to these organisations and they are doing things.”
A spokesperson for Alone, a charity that helps support elderly people, said that there had been an increase in the number of people aged over 60 that are on the waiting list for social housing.
The figure went up 11.4 per cent every year between 2013 and 2016, which an increase of 18 per cent in Dublin in 2015 and 2016.
Chief Executive of Alone, Sean Moynihan, praised Frank’s bravery for speaking out – as he said that more needs to be done to tackle the issue.
He added:
“Frank is extremely brave to speak out for himself and the problem is that there are so many Franks out there.
“Remember when someone like Frank loses his home he loses his community – his doctor, his friends, his church, his locality.
“At the moment he’s in a situation where he doesn’t know where he is going.”
Mr Moynihan said that he feels that the conversation around housing for older people has been mostly focused on downsizing.
He said:
“The reality of it is that for every house we have, you have around 50 older people looking for a house.
“Frank is very young and able and still working but we have a lot of people with disabilities who cannot work.
“What people don’t realise, Frank’s story could be any of our stories.”
