{"id":4343,"date":"2022-11-25T14:57:11","date_gmt":"2022-11-25T14:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ie.depaulcharity.org\/?post_type=stories&p=4343"},"modified":"2022-12-11T21:36:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T21:36:31","slug":"tommys-story","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/ie.depaulcharity.org\/stories\/tommys-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommy’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tommy has been on the streets since he was 11. He\u2019s spent many a Christmas on the cold concrete. He says Christmas is the loneliest time of year. So lonely, you can feel like a ghost.<\/p>\n

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Starting life on the Streets <\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cMy parents were alcoholics and I left home very young. I went into the city when I was 11.<\/p>\n

I put myself through school, and did my exams and it wasn\u2019t long after, my mental health deteriorated and my relationship with heroin started until the age of 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re on the streets, it depends on who you interact with, who will show you kindness. That can make or break you. You will get very nice people who come up to you and would take 5-10 minutes to speak to you. But they can\u2019t change what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

You feel like a ghost<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re sitting on street level, you\u2019re watching other people\u2019s feet walking past you. All day long, you\u2019re watching them go right past you. Because I\u2019m watching people\u2019s feet – that\u2019s all I\u2019m seeing – I think it affects the brain because it\u2019s like you\u2019re being trampled on by society. You feel like society has trampled you down. If I\u2019m sitting on the street, I\u2019m below everyone. That\u2019s how I see it. That\u2019s how they see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes they don\u2019t even see you. Won\u2019t ever see you. You feel like a ghost, like you could just disappear and no one would notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I say it like this\u2026 You can go months, and I mean months, without talking to anyone. Then your mental health will go. You know you\u2019ve slipped through the net of society. You know you\u2019re not welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be very, very lonely.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s the killer \u2013 loneliness.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Christmas on the Streets<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cFrom Stephen\u2019s Day until New Year\u2019s – it\u2019s absolute torture, it\u2019s like a ghost town, there\u2019s nobody. There\u2019s a real sense of emptiness, that\u2019s the only way to describe it. Being homeless at Christmas\u2026 I can\u2019t describe it. It’s very hard to put into words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a massive family and you miss your family at Christmas.\u00a0 You feel like you\u2019re an embarrassment to them and you would be better off not being there.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to reach out to someone more than anything, but there\u2019s no one there. You want to pick up the phone and speak to someone. But then you don\u2019t want to phone, because maybe they don\u2019t want to speak to you.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat people don\u2019t understand is – homelessness is not just one thing. It’s a combination of problems that has led to this \u2013 losing a job, a family break up or addiction. It’s never just the one thing, it’s a combination that can lead to this.<\/p>\n

“Everyone has a story. We need to be seen and heard.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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To support other people like Tommy, donate today\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Donate Now<\/a><\/p>\n

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