Can you help women like Aoife?
When Aoife first met Daniel, she thought he was the answer to her prayers, referring to him as “the love of my life”. Everything started off great, and after a whirlwind romance which swept her off her feet, they quickly moved in together. Very soon, the darker side of Daniel’s character began to reveal itself. He became controlling, rage filled and even violent.
Unfortunately for Aoife, the mistreatment only got worse from there. Her confidence was completely shattered and she became uncharacteristically timid, even terrified. She then discovered that she was pregnant, leaving her even more distraught. “I thought this would change everything, would help bring him back to who he was when we first met. Nothing changed, except now when he hurt me, he was also hurting my baby”.
“I had to get out…”
Finally, Aoife very courageously decided it was time to get out. “I couldn’t bring a child into this house. With him”. She had nowhere to go – she was too scared to stay with friends or family in case Daniel found her. With no other choice and no money, she hitch-hiked into the centre of Dublin, carrying only a small suitcase of possessions. She ended up sleeping rough on a bench at a train station.
Help from Dublin Simon
Dublin Simon came to Aoife’s aid when they discovered her sleeping rough – pregnant, alone and scared. Ever since that night, our team has been working closely with Aoife, advocating for her at every turn. With the help of our kind supporters, we have been able to stand by Aoife and support her with a safe place to stay and a rough over her head. She is determined to find a home for herself and her baby, and we will keep working with her every day to achieve this.
More women are presenting as homeless
While homelessness can affect everyone from all walks of life, we are very concerned by the rising number of women presenting as homeless. There has been a 30% increase just this year. Women sleeping rough can be more vulnerable, as they fear more for their safety. They also have a greater need for privacy, something near impossible on the streets, particularly women who are pregnant.
Dublin Simon is doing all we can to support these incredibly vulnerable women. It is critical that we get more beds for females in emergency accommodation, something that our donors are helping towards.
If you can, please make a contribution today to support women like Aoife and the many other people we are helping who are struggling with homelessness. We need support now more than ever to get as many people off the streets as possible before the winter temperatures come.
