Athboy homeless volunteer group striving to make a difference

A woman from Athboy who started a voluntary group to help the homeless says she was inspired to make a difference after being shocked at the huge volume of people she witnessed sleeping on the streets in Dublin. Having not spent much time in the capital in recent years, Amanda Geraghty describes being shocked and saddened when she realised the extent of the homeless crisis on a night out in Dublin and felt compelled to try and help those in need.

The mother of three has since mobilised a group of local volunteers who travel to Dublin city centre every week to provide hot food and drinks, clothing and toiletries to 300 homeless people. She says it all started when she packed up her own car with supplies one night and headed off with her son to see what she could do.

“I had just returned from being in America and I was shocked at the level of homelessness there,” comments the Athboy woman, adding, “I wouldn’t often be in the city centre at night and I happened to be out on a night out in Dublin the week after I came home and I realised it was a lot worse here than it was in America. I couldn’t get over it.

“I went home and I couldn’t sleep all week thinking about it. The following week I headed off in the car with my son, I made some sandwiches and tea and soup and headed up and we started handing it out. After a week or two I put up a post on Facebook to see if anyone else would like to get involved and from there it escalated.”

 

The group depends on the generosity of the local community 

The group that works through the Athboy’s People Who Share Care Facebook Page has now over 30 people involved and together they offer hot meals and drinks to 300 people every Saturday night.

“We set up outside Dunnes on Grafton Street every Saturday night with five tables. From there we give out hot food like lasagne, curries, pasta, sandwiches, soup, tea coffee and biscuits. People donate second-hand clothes and shoes for men, women and children on a weekly basis,” comments Amanda. 

“It’s a mammoth task every week because we are a completely voluntary group.  Every week we have a couple of different people in Athboy and the Navan area that prepare food so we are never short of anything in that way. The support we have is unbelievable.

“We are based in the community centre in Athboy so people every Tuesday night people can drop in and donate clothes, shoes, toiletries and food items there.”
 “We have a group of ladies from Ratoath led by a fantastic lady called Bernadette Fagan, they look after the outreach with trollies for people that can’t get to the tables, the ones that are in the doorways or are too ill. At the tables you have roughly 12 to 14 people helping out.

There are still negative connotations surrounding people who are homeless but the demographics of those affected is indiscriminate, according to Amanda, who is married to former Meath football captain, Graham Geraghty.

“Some people think that substance abuse is the cause of homelessness but it couldn’t be further from the truth. We have men, women and children coming to us, elderly people who were renting all of their lives in Dublin and vulture landlords increased their rent that they couldn’t afford on a pension.

“We also have families that live in emergency accommodation that come to us so we have bags of groceries for them and whatever they need.
“There have been a few people that have been in emergency accommodation that have now gotten flats and we have fully kitted them out for them with second-hand furniture, electrical appliances, even knives and forks. Those people haven’t forgotten us, they come back and help us out on a Saturday night.

 Seeing the faces and hearing the stories behind the crisis is eyeopening according to the passionate volunteer, 

Volunteers gather every Saturday evening in Dublin City Centre to help those in need

“You have to gain people’s trust. Initially, they might come to the table and they mightn’t speak for three months and then you get to know them and bit by bit you get their stories.
 “We have one young woman that comes to us every week who is blind and has a guide dog and there are no hostels that will take people with a dog. It’s also heartbreaking to see children in this situation.

Being in a position to offer some support to those who need it is a privilege according to Amanda and makes you appreciate what’s important in life. 
 “When you are driving home through the Pheonix Park every Saturday night you are just so thankful for what you have. When we started we provided food for around 20 to 40 people now we have nearly 300 meals every Saturday night, it’s getting worse and worse.

“To me, it’s the Christian thing to do, for me what you give you get in life. All you want in life is a roof over your head, food, clothes, once your children are happy and healthy that’s all that matters. If you don’t give in life you don’t get back.” 

Amanda and co are hosting a fundraising event called the ‘Higginstown Hooley’ in the Old Bawn Inn on Saturday 20th July,

“It is a completely free event with a BBQ that will have burgers and hotdogs for €2 so a family of five can be fed for €10 on the day. There will be bouncy castles and face painting for the kids and a fantastic line up of music with Matt Leavy, Eamonn and Fergal McDonagh and an up and coming band called Ar Meisce.

“We also have a country and western disco. We are providing a free shuttle bus that will bring people to and from the event.  You can make a donation on the day or by purchasing raffle tickets. We have 40 raffle prizes, there is not one prize that’s not worth over €100.” 

For more information on the event or to get involved, you can visit the Athboy’s People Who Share Care Facebook Page or email amandamgeraghty@gmail.com