The student sleep out held by Trinity FLAC in conjunction with Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) saw just over forty students sleep outside Front Arch last night to raise awareness about the homeless crisis in Ireland and to generate much-needed funds for the Peter McVerry Trust.
Speaking to The University Times, Chair of Trinity FLAC, Kate Heffernan, stated that she hoped that “by sleeping out, students will have gained a deeper understanding, on a very human level, of what it is to be a person who is homeless”.
TCDSU President, Kieran McNulty, emphasised the pressing issue of the homeless crisis. Speaking to The University Times, McNulty said he hopes the partnership continues “for years on end”. This was the second year in a row the sleep out has been held.
“The Irish government needs to drastically improve their services for the homeless in Ireland. Anything we can do to highlight that or raise money for a good cause is worth it”, he said.
Former Minister for Education and Skills and Labour TD Jan O’Sullivan joined student at the sleep out. O’Sullivan spoke of how “Trinity FLAC in particular have a very strong record in relation to a variety of social justice issues”. Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan also dropped in later in the evening to show her support for this cause.
As someone attending the sleep out, I found the conversation around the homeless crisis unsettling. The statistics speak for themselves. Nearly 7,000 people in Ireland are homeless today, with more than 2,000 children having no home.
During the sleep out students played a range of songs, including “BAD” by U2. The song, focused on heroin and addiction, was the soundtrack to a 1980s Dublin struck by a homelessness crisis. That reality has only got worse today.
Heffernan said that “access to housing is one of the most basic and fundamental human rights. Without a home, so many other rights become meaningless to a person”.
O’Sullivan pointed towards the need for stronger policies to fight the epidemic. The “housing first” initiative is an example where you “give them a home and the actual wrap-around service they need”. An emphasis, she said, must also be placed on the mental health of those who are homeless: “Many have addiction issues and in a lot of cases they don’t have support.”
“It isn’t simply about just allocating money, it’s really about making sure that that money is spent in a way that is really effective”, O’Sullivan said.
When morning dawned I was glad to get back to college and resume my life, knowing unfortunately that this escape is not possible to many rough sleepers living on the streets of Dublin.
