sleepingbags required

by same Fri Nov 21, 2008 19:47

they are also open on Sunday from 2 onwards so if you have a sleeping bag gathering dust in the attic lease donate.

by beth Tue Dec 02, 2008 17:49

so far we have collected 0 yes zero blankets & sleeping bags ...
These homeless have nothing to cover themselves with and the government does nothing for them (as usual).
please bring your warmhearted gifts of life to 10 Belvedere court. They will be passed on immediately to the homeless no questions asked and no demands made.
Thank you.

by Michael - Human League Wed Dec 03, 2008 04:26

You have no business going around collecting sleeping bags and blankets ON BEHALF of homeless people.
Simon Community are in a position to provide the above and the Homeless know where to go .
Homeless people have up to a dozen eating houses which are providing well cooked food on a daily basis ,lots of homeless people ''know the score''
and are no fools. The fundemental reason why homeless persons sleep outdoors is due to anti social behaviour within Sheltered areas as they are
forced to trust the 4 Seasons instead.
Sorry to hurt your feelings, however the Homeless Look after each other as best they can and share information which benefits each other on a daily
basis.
Your well meaning intentions may be better employed by focusing on their predicament in running , and hopefully you may succeed.

by Safe citizen Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:08

While sharing some sentiments of the last poster i.e. it would be better to donate money and blankets and maybe food directly to Simon and other groups that help the homeless, I doubt whether the homeless look after themselves very well. Some have mental and physical problems and really need intervention by welcoming groups.

Beware of bogus charities that collect old clothes for Africa. Some may be fronts for commercial cloth recycling operations. Donate materials to charity shops and other known benevolent groups.

by Mark Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:09

Agree with the previous comments.

I volunteered with SIMON for one night a week for a year. Why don't you do the same instead and better understand the needs of and reasons for homelessness in Dublin?

I'm curious as to what exactly you planned to do with these sleeping bags and blankets. There are no lack of them and I'm sure while in your mind, you thought walking up to people you assume are homeless and handing them a sleeping bag [great, one MORE thing to carry] without building up the rapport, trust and respect which Focus Ireland and Simon do would not result in any embarrassment or problems for either you or anyone else, you may have been a little short-sighted.

by donate a blanket Wed Dec 24, 2008 22:53

Try sleeping outside and see if you crave a blanket or sleeping bag. I am currently distributing sleeping bag for the homeless. If you have one lying about doing nothing but gathering dust please bring them to the gathering point. I am an ex homeless myself and know from experience that blankets and sleeping bags r not readily distributed amongst the homeless. I myself never drank or used drugs or anything like that. The people going to the shelters r mostly drunk ( they drink inside the shelters )and r drugs abusers and when a fight breaks out the doors to the carers section r simply closed and there is no way out. I witnessed people getting hit on the head with a bottle and there was no possibility to get the ambulance inside as they simply would not open the doors to them or to the gardai. They just shut off the lights in their compartments and ignored the fact that people were injured. On top of that some of the carers do not write down the rent you pay and then you end up having to pay double the rent for the week and this happens often. They abuse the fact that a drunk person does not recall having paid the rent.
Any non drug abuser would rather sleep outside. The ones sleeping outside r usually the mellow people who would not set a foot inside these 'shelters'.
The organizations that provide these ask for your name age etc. and they do not give you a second one if you lose the first. I actually ended up in hospital with frost bite to the face hands and feet and still suffer with pain as a result of this. The only blanket I could get was the one the nurse gave me (along with some clean clothes). Later when I was rushed in a second time the ambulance provided me with one of their orange blankets to keep.
Clean clothes are another thing a homeless person cannot get. Once a year a cwo will issue a check for clothes but the homeless have to use this in a certain one place in Dublin North which I will not mention here but they have many shops and they gather monies for charity selling second hand clothes. In this particular shop where the homeless can buy clothes the prices r higher than the new price. The government thus paid into this organization and the homeless is left with a pair of trousers a shirt and one other thing but they cannot afford a pair of shoes or a coat with that.
Michael from the human league you hypocrite. You really think all homeless are capable of looking after each other and should be left to fend for themselves. NO ONE takes care of them that is why they are homeless. Mark you think one week with simon gives you the right to deny homeless their blankets? Don't show up in focus with that attitude. I worked there and know what they do with the monies, they have a nice party with food, drinks and the works and the next day they tell the homeless who have to pay for a plate of food and a bit of coffee or tea that they cannot afford more luxury meat or more meat and the kitchen really has to make food out of nothing, I admire the kitchen staff and think they are the only genuine people there. How can anyone accept payment for standing around and saying hi how are you with a fake smile when you know you could serve the homeless better by giving them better food and shelter for that. In that year when I was there the focus managed to house one person on their scheme that I know of and there are hundreds of people waiting for housing being told off. For years someone is printing out these useless pages from the papers with rooms and houses for rent. There is no price indication and most of these do not accept rent allowance. The homeless have to ring them on their own behalf and end up paying a lot towards phone costs. They all ring the same addresses and get the same answer. Too high an asking price and no rent allowance accepted. The focus do not gather that information for the homeless and the only ones who benefit from this are the phone companies.
enough said just hand in those sleeping bags I got 4 people in the area, one is a young woman and they have nothing to shelter them from the cold. Yes one lad drinks beer but he does that so he can forget the cold. When he sleeps he has his thumb in his mouth like a baby, so adoring. If you have no trust in us ex homeless why don't you bring the blankets/ bag to the homeless yourself, just go out in the evening and look around, they are there and are not difficult to find. Don't ask who they are, don't ask for their stories, leave them their dignity as it is the last thing they have. Don't give 'wise words' or tell em where to go. They know they cannot go anywhere and need not be put down any further. Do know their numbers are growing rapidly as a lot of people lose their home to the banks. Do not go to third parties etc. to state what happens to any particular person, let these people have the safety of anonymity as this is the last safety they have.