Michael found himself homeless while battling an alcohol addiction and experienced homelessness for almost 30 years. He moved in and out of emergency hostels and psychiatric hospitals in Galway a lot. However, he would still often find himself sleeping rough on the streets of Galway.
“I’ve had a lot of mental health problems in the past – anxiety and things like that. The doctor put me on prescription medication to help me, but I got addicted to them because they blocked out the anxiety. And that led to other, harder drugs.”
“I’ve had too many low points at Christmas. Ending up in hospital on New Year’s Day is probably one of my worst memories.”
I didn’t want Paul to see me cry. But he’d know if there was anything wrong and he’ll tell me about 100 times a day – ‘I love you so much mammy’ he’d say.
“The support Galway Simon gave was practical and immediate. Anna stood beside us every step of the way and helped us to keep our home.”
“A lovely fella called Noel, who’s been working with me since the 80s, handed me a key and said ‘This is the key to your apartment. It’s your home now, as long as you want it.’ That was a big step for me and I can hardly begin to describe how good it felt.”
“I’m so grateful to Galway Simon Community. They believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. They saved my life.”
“I became homeless because I was tired of being beaten.”
