Homeless not Hopeless – Memoir

If I was to choose a place and a role to finish a forty year career in human services in England and Ireland I would have chosen the subject of this book. In it I reflect on my time as CEO of Galway Simon Community that provides services to adults and children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. I chose to use prose and poetic forms in an attempt to ensure that the voice of users of the service emerges from the fog of the cover all tag of homeless.

I try to show the reader the state’s attempts to deal with this group within Irish society and highlight some of the differing attitudes of the general public to their fellow citizens.

While exposing the pain experienced by people on the homeless journey I also try to show how successful rehabilitation can occur with proper support.

This book is not an academic review of the state of homelessness in Ireland. We are already awash with such documents. It is written totally from what I experienced during my time with Simon. I was regularly humiliated and impressed by the resilience of the service users I met and the dedication of staff who supported them across the many barriers they faced. I hope it is a fitting tribute to both groups.

This book is available in paperback and e book formats by searching by title on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

Excerpts from the book are posted on a regular basis on the Blog section of this site.