From an early age, Martina knew what it was like to go without. Without food, without safety, without stability. By the time she was an adult, Martina was without a home or hope.
In my 20 years as a counsellor at Dublin Simon Community, I have had many people sit across from me and say they have lost all hope. Each time, my answer is the same, I tell them, “Why don’t you let me hold hope here for you for a bit, until you can believe in it again? Because I have hope for you.”
But the truth is, right now, we are struggling to keep up with the rising number of people experiencing homelessness who need support.
Demand is rising across all our services. We are seeing a particularly worrying increase in the number of women turning to us in crisis. Our promise to never turn anyone away is getting harder to keep.
Without a home or hope.
Martina had been sleeping rough for over a year when I first met her.
Pain and exhaustion were written all over her face. She sat across from me hunched, curling into herself as if she was trying to make herself smaller.
Martina told me how she wanted to disappear.
She had tried to rebuild her life several times before, but each time, trauma, poor mental health, and the absence of a safe home pulled her back into homelessness.
Not long before we met, Martina had been found close to death after attempting to take her own life.
She had no home. And no hope.
That day was the beginning of something new for Martina.
At Dublin Simon, thanks to you she found people and a place she could depend on. A steady presence in a life where she has only known chaos. That support is only possible because of you.
She told me about growing up in poverty. Martina didn’t have a kitchen table where she did her homework or shared mealtimes with her family. In fact, she was rarely in school and home was often an unstable and unsafe environment.
“Growing up, home wasn’t a home for me. it wasn’t suitable for anyone, never mind a child. I seen people die, saw things I can never forget.”
And searching through bins behind shops for food and clothes. Never having a safe or stable home.
“I remember Ma would bring me and my brothers and sisters to the back of the shops and be rooting through bins for food or clothes banks to get our clothes and that’s how we lived for a long time.”
And how a person she should have been able to trust the most stole the very heart of her childhood. She became so afraid that she slept on the hard bathroom floor. It was the only door in the house she could lock from the inside.
At just 12 years old she fell victim to alcohol to numb her reality. Over time, she became desperate for anything that could take her pain away, even if only temporarily.
Not all childhoods are made equal, and sadly the picture Martina painted for me is similar to many of the stories I hear every day. They are all children who grew up without the safety and stability every child needs and deserves.
Why your support for Dublin Simon is different.
At Dublin Simon Community, we make one simple promise:
We never turn anyone away.
We meet people where they are – that is something about Dublin Simon Community that I believe is very special.
If someone comes to us facing mental or physical health issues, or active addiction challenges…
- We do not turn them away.
- We do not tell them to come back another time.
- We do not send them to an overcrowded A&E department.
Because of you, there is always a door open.
With your support Martina can heal
Confronting the past was not easy for Martina, but like many of our clients, she kept showing up. She spoke about things she had never spoken about before.
She shed the tears she needed for the little girl she used to be, the one who deserved so much more.
Today, Martina is living in our Ashfield House. For the first time in her life, she can close her eyes at night without fear.
She no longer has to worry where her next meal is coming from or who might be coming through her door. That peace of mind is giving her the space and calm she needs to overcome her trauma and face life’s other challenges head on.
Martina’s experience is not unique. Too many women like her are still facing the same impossible reality.
Your help is vital to the success of Martina and so many more people like her. Overcoming a life full of trauma takes time and patience. Without the continued safety of her supported home and access to her counsellor, the weight of her past could still pull her back.
With all my thanks,
Derek
Counselling & Psychotherapeutic Manager, Dublin Simon Community
You can’t change their past but you can change the future .
With just €21 a month, today you can give some access to safety, counselling and a place to lay their head at night as they rebuild their life.
Join Our Monthly Giving Community to provide lasting support.
Growing up, home wasn’t a home for me. it wasn’t suitable for anyone, never mind a child. i seen people die, saw things i can never forget.
I remember ma would bring me and my brothers and sisters to the back of the shops and be rooting through bins for food or clothes banks to get our clothes and that’s how we lived for a long time.
We were bullied by other kids on the street cause we didn’t have what they had, for the way our family was, the way we dressed and the state if our house. we were never in school and always moving from place to place. i felt lonely as a kid, even though i had my siblings.
A terrible thing happened me and my childhood ended when i was seven. i felt scared all the time, i’d nobody to talk to. the fear went on for years. i used sleep in the bathroom at night, just to have a door i could lock. i was scared what would happen if i told my ma or anyone. it affected my whole life.
I found ways to escape but then they started to swallow me up too. i hated myself, couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. i was sleeping in tents and on the streets, it was miserable.
I couldn’t handle no more, my life was just dark, i thought i’d be better off dead. i tried to take my own life, but i’m grateful someone found me, got me to hospital.
It was one of the doctors said to me about dublin simon. i’ve been here since. when i first come i wouldn’t speak, i was so broken. now, i have weekly counselling sessions, they’re really helping me.
You and the people at dublin simon are doing so much for me. i want you to know that. you’re giving me back hope for the future. thank you from the bottom of my heart. i’m not sure i’d be here anymore without you.
With all my thanks,
Martina
At Dublin Simon Community, we believe that everyone has to be seen and be heard. Here is how you help meet people where they are.
