Homeless man who lived in Waterford opens up on struggles with alcohol and mental health
A homeless who lived in Waterford for a period has ended up on the streets with no support
A brave homeless man and ex-alcoholic has openly shared his heartbreaking story as he reaches out for any support he can get.
Andy Farrell has run out of options after sleeping on the streets of Limerick and Waterford over the last few years with no where else to go.
Andy is sober, yet he is currently sleeping on the streets, caught up in the bureaucracy of the homeless services system, according to a GoFundMe post created last week.
Andy bravely shared details of his story in a GoFundMe which has already raised over €2,000 to help support him through such difficult times.
Andy said that on December 29, after living in Galway for five years or so, he went into a rehab centre in Limerick.
“When I completed rehab, I went in to a transition house in Limerick. Towards the end of July, I relapsed and was asked to leave the transition house where I spent a few weeks on the streets of Limerick.
“I take full accountability for my actions. I put myself there by drinking unfortunately. A few weeks after this, I got a bus to Waterford, where I jumped into the river to take my own life.”
Andy said that he was then pulled from the water and admitted to hospital.
One week later, he was discharged to see a mental health team in Waterford and he asked to not to be discharged.
“I didn’t feel ready and told them I would jump in again,” Andy explained in the GoFundMe.
“They discharged me and that night I jumped into the river again. Again, it was unsuccessful.
“I also had been drinking through this time. When I got out of hospital, I sought help from Waterford City and County Council but they told me I had no local connection and they wouldn’t be able to help me in any shape or form.”
Waterford City and County Council told Andy to either go back to Galway where his previous address had been or to Wicklow County Council where his mam, dad and sister have lived for over 10 and 20 years because that would qualify as a local connection.
“When I contacted Galway County Council they said your application has been closed over a year and that there was no need for me to go back there,” Andy said.
“So after five weeks on the streets of Waterford, I made a decision to travel to Wicklow County Council to seek help.
“I travelled up on Thursday, October 1. I filled out a housing application form and they done a brief homeless assessment on me and I was told I couldn’t avail of the emergency homeless services and to go back to Waterford.
“When I rang Waterford [council], they told me to stay in Wicklow. So after emails back and forth they invited me for another assessment on Tuesday, October 6. Bearing in mind by then I slept another five nights on the street.”
Andy said that when he went to the homeless assessment on that Tuesday, he met with a woman and man who asked him a series of questions.
“The end result - they said that my local connection wasn’t strong enough. Even though by their own papers and legislation, it says if a family member lives in the county for more than two continuous years, this is provided as a local connection.
“When I asked what I am going to do, the woman advised me to go to Bray to avail of a tent and a sleeping bag and sleep on the streets.”
Since then, Andy has been sleeping on the streets of Wicklow Town.
“I am currently sober and attending AA meetings. I have TD’s and councillors working to advocate for me but to no avail.
“There is a homeless hostel called Kilmantin Lodge in Wicklow Town. I have on good authority that they have beds free yet I have been left on a doorway for eight nights in Wicklow with absolutely no credible reason.”
A link to Andy’s GoFundMe page can be found here.