Beaming, happy families all gathered together, mountainous piles of presents beneath the tree, and mouthwatering feasts laid out across beautifully decorated tables…
We’re all familiar with these typical depictions of seasonal joy. After all, they’re blasted across our TV screens, newspapers, billboards and more each year — and if we’re lucky, some of us might even get to see such happy scenes unfold in our own homes come Christmas Day.
For many others, however, Christmas can be a terribly bittersweet occasion — plagued by the knowledge that something is missing.
For some of us, Christmas can remind us how deeply we’re missing someone; whether it’s an estranged or dearly departed loved one, or perhaps a family member or friend living overseas and marking their first Christmas away from home.
For growing numbers of families across the country, however, what’s missing this Christmas is something even more heartbreaking — a home itself.
This year, thousands of people nationwide are at risk of spending Christmas Day with no roof over their heads — far more than can even be imagined.
This September saw 592 men and women across the Southwest alone (Cork and Kerry) depending on emergency accommodation in a single week — up 3% from the same time period last year.
Bleak as they are, these figures don’t even reflect the full scale of the homeless crisis. People rough sleeping, or in squats, refuges, direct provision, or staying with family or friends on an insecure basis, often in over-crowded accommodation, because they have nowhere else to stay are not included in the official count.
For these immeasurable numbers of people, this Christmas will be a very tough one — and one that Stephen, a man who spent several Christmases in their exact situation, can relate to all too well.
“For so many years I felt totally left out of Christmas,” he reflects. “It was just another day. I kept my head down and waited for it to pass. It’s tragic when I think back now.”
“I was at the lowest point in my life when Cork Simon came to my rescue. After spending six Christmases alone in hostels or on the streets, they welcomed me in from the cold.
“I’ll never forget that first Christmas at Cork Simon. It was magical. The staff really make a top effort. They even got us little gifts and gave us Christmas cards from Cork Simon supporters — and when you have nothing, the tiniest bit of kindness means a lot.”
For Stephen, Cork Simon didn’t just give him his first happy Christmas in years — they also gave him a second chance at life.
Drinking to block out the trauma of his turbulent childhood, which saw him bounced from one foster home to the next — 14 homes before he was even nine years old in fact — Stephen admits he reached rock bottom and had tried to take his own life before he reached out to Cork Simon for help.
“If it wasn’t for Cork Simon, I wouldn’t be here today. No word of a lie. Addiction had taken my family, relationships, good friends, and any hope of holding down a job. I was thinking of doing something daft again when I flipped a coin. Something came into my head to get in touch with my last foster parents.
"I rang my foster dad and told him I was sick and was struggling with my mental health. I’d been an absolute terror to him and his family, but still he came and collected me. I still can’t believe he did it. We chatted for about four hours, and then he dropped me at Cork Simon. It was the best thing he could have done.
“My foster dad knew he couldn’t give me the help I needed, but he was sure Cork Simon could, and he was right. They welcomed me with open arms.
“Thanks to Cork Simon, I’ve been sober now for three years. I’ve properly reconnected with my foster family, just making amends with them every day for what I put them through. I’m at college in the week, studying for a degree in Community Development and Youth Work, and I manage a coffee shop at the weekends. I’m doing voluntary work, helping young people avoid the life I had. I’ve a girlfriend and her family have welcomed me into their fold. It’s just such a lovely feeling, to be accepted. I don’t feel left out of anything anymore. I feel loved, and part of life.”
That phone call to his foster dad, who first brought him to Cork Simon, is what turned Stephen’s life around. None of the amazing things in his life he’s so grateful for today would have happened if he hadn’t decided to ask for help all those years ago — and now, he’s determined to keep asking.
“I’m not asking for myself. I’ve turned my life around. I’m asking for help on behalf of everyone who is still out there on the streets — and who will be out there in the cold and the rain this Christmas,” he explains.
This year, more than ever, Cork Simon needs your help to bring people like Stephen in from the cold.
Any donation, big or small, can help the charity give a proper Christmas to those who need it most.
“A donation from you today can help Cork Simon to give someone like me a warm welcome and a pure tasty Christmas meal with all the trimmings,” Stephen urges. “And by trimmings, I’m not talking about gravy and parsnips. I mean a room in the emergency hostel, or help getting into rehab. Then maybe job training and help to nail down a proper, long-term place to live.
“That’s why Cork Simon are so important in our community. They’re here to help young people like me make a new start — and there’s no better time to get the chance of a new start than at Christmas.”
Cork Simon's outreach team share how your generosity this Christmas can help keep their vital work going.
Support worker Chrissie has been part of the Cork Simon staff for nearly 20 years, working across a range of different services. She’s seen first-hand how life on the streets has worn down the people she helps — but she’s also seen how just one day, Christmas Day, can make all the difference.
“Inside the shelter we strive to offer a place where people are safe, and they are treated with respect and dignity,” she shares. “We understand the challenges that people face when they are out on the street; they may be abused, looked down on, and that has a huge impact on their self-worth, so it’s really important — especially at Christmas time — that they’re able to come to a safe place, to be treated with respect.”
The lack of respect is something Cork Simon service user Ann remembers most strongly from her time on the streets.
“I’ve been looked down on because I was homeless. It makes you feel you’re not worthy of life as much as other people would be,” she shares.
Not only has that respect been given freely to Ann and many others like her at Cork Simon, but something else just as important has been too — hope.
“[Life after reaching out to Cork Simon] is such a change from living out of a rucksack; from walking the streets with no security for the night ahead; from having no future, no dream, no lust or zest for life or anything,” says fellow service user Cian. “I’m looking forward to the future now, for the first time, with great anticipation, expectation and excitement.”
While for Alan, the biggest thing he’s gained from Cork Simon’s services is friendship. “There’s compassion with people who’ve been on the streets, because they understand what it’s like to not have anything and to be alone, abandoned,” he explains.
“It’s just like having an extended family, you know. Everybody looks out for each other, pretty much. The people that work here obviously really do care about people.”
So…whether it’s the gift of hope, of compassion, or of respect; what will you give to those who need it most this Christmas?
“I’m truly hoping that people will help Cork Simon to make the magic happen again this year, that they can dig deep to help make sure no one is left out this Christmas,” Stephen reiterates.
“The support that people give to Cork Simon is genuinely life-saving — I’m just so grateful to be proof of that.”
To help make a difference for people like Stephen this Christmas, head to www.corksimon.ie/donate.
