Appeal: Anne’s Story
Hi, my name is Marie O’Leary and I am a Housing Support Officer with Galway Simon Community. Today I want to tell you about a lady called Anne.
Years ago I spotted Anne in the park opposite Galway Simon’s Resource Centre, just sitting on a bench for hours on end.
She looked … broken.
I introduced myself and encouraged Anne to come across to the centre for a cup of tea. After that, she was there every day—from the minute we opened to the minute we closed.
Anne told me she was sleeping in a chair at her daughter’s house and just walking around all day to avoid going home to her violent husband.
She had married young, at barely 18, after leaving school at 12 to help support her family. But it turned out her husband was not the man she thought he was.
Just after their first baby was born, the beatings started. Then more babies came, and the beatings didn’t stop. Once, she took the children to a refuge, but without the right support, she had no choice but to go back home. Only when her children had all flown the nest did she finally leave.
Imagine being so afraid that you cannot go home.
Imagine what it takes to hold onto your dignity and sense of self in such a situation. And imagine too, how much it means to find out that people ‘out there’ really do care.
We arranged for Anne to live in a shared house, and she began taking part in community activities and volunteering in a charity shop.
We advocated with the council to find her a permanent home of her own and today, Anne is settled in her own little bungalow, where she loves spending time with her grandchildren.
In many ways, it’s an ordinary life. But for Anne, it’s extraordinary. To be safe.
