Struggling families given food parcels in Ballyfermot
By Maurice Garvey
FAMILIES in Cherry Orchard who are struggling to pay bills, are receiving food parcels on a daily basis.
The service is provided by Help 4 The Homeless, a Ballyfermot group who support vulnerable people in the community.
The group are hosting a public meeting on Tuesday, September 22 at the Ballyfermot Civic Centre at 8.15pm – to give homeless people a voice.
Established late last year by local women, Help 4 the Homeless provides soup shelters on Ballyfermot Road, and have become more active throughout the year.
However, the homeless situation has gotten so bad in the area, that the group have started to deliver food packages to struggling families in Cherry Orchard.
Co-founder Annmarie Gleeson said: “After the soup run, we do a run to families in Cherry Orchard, giving out food from Tesco’s. There are children who are going hungry. It’s mostly families with five or six kids.
“The children follow after us like we are the ice-cream van. The situation has got worse. Nobody understands it until they see it for themselves.”
Annmarie hopes the public meeting will “urge people to action” and she has identified solutions to improve the housing crisis.
Sinn Féin councillor and chair of Dublin City Council housing committee, Daithí Doolan, said:
“The group continue to provide an invaluable service to families in Ballyfermot.
This meeting is an essential part of helping homeless people to organise themselves and to demand their rights.
“Dublin is in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis. It is essential that the voices of people who are homeless are heard. We are sick of the government spin.
Everyday we hear that there is no shortage of funding for homeless services and for new homes. This is simply not true.”
He continued: “It is high time that people confined to hotels, B&Bs or sleeping on friend’s floors have their stories heard.”
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