Ballymun Civic Offices occupied by protesters

MEMBERS of the Ballymun-Finglas Housing Action campaign occupied Ballymun Civic Offices last week in an attempt to force action on homelessness.

The handful of protesters were calling for the council to draw up a list of relevant contact numbers for homeless services in local housing offices and for more clarity in relation to the Housing Assistance Payment.

They also demanded that information be made more accessible in each local office and for detailed transparency on options, and their consequences, for homeless people.

Leanne Kiernan – a mother-of-one who has been homeless for five months and on the housing waiting list for six years – took part in the protest.

“We are here to highlight just how bad the homeless crisis is in Ballymun and across the city,” she said.

“We believe that housing should be a basic human right and that the council’s homeless services need to be urgently improved.

“Vital information is not easily available for homeless people. I am constantly given the runaround from one office to the next. It would make our lives less stressful if we had easy access to what our options are.”

Mum-of-two Stacey Walsh, who has been homeless for six months and on the housing waiting list for a decade, said protesters held the occupation because they felt they had no other option.

“My two sons, who are both under nine, my partner and myself have all lived in a cramped B&B room for the last six months,” she explained.

“No one should be made to live so inhumanely.

“I feel that prisoners have better quality housing than my family does. We have no access to simple things such as washing or cooking facilities.

“This whole horrific experience has put an incredible amount of strain on my family. We are being treated like second-class citizens.”