WomenTalk
8
MONDAY MAY 30 2011
Colleen Newbanks finds out how charity De Paul Ireland is helping under-pressure families and supporting street drinkers trying to leave their addiction behind
Helping hands
C
ARA Brown is a young mother of two healthy and happy children, Mackenzie (2) and newborn AJ. Vincent O’Brien is an aspiring writer and father of a seven-yearold boy. Cara and Vincent are also service users of De Paul Ireland’s Mater Dei, accommodation and support centre for families, and Stella Maris, accommodation for longterm street drinkers. De Paul Ireland is a charity that provides accommodation and support for homeless people with acute needs. They work with people who many others struggle to, including street drinkers, women leaving prison, families and those with behavioural, self-harm and addiction problems. Stella Maris is a unique programme as residents are permitted to drink alcohol on the premises. This drinking is controlled and monitored. “In here the drinking is much safer,” said service user Vincent. “There’s a time limit between each drink you have and the next.” Vincent previously lived on the streets of Glasgow; he says he was “drinking to get to sleep, it was terrible and I was on a downward spiral”. Before coming to Stella Maris, he was beaten up, had his money stolen and felt no sense of personal security. Living there for the past year has given him “security and a sense of belonging”, something he didn’t have on the streets. Describing his experiences of
growing up in Glasgow, Vincent said: “I made some bad choices growing up but I didn’t have many options – there’s too much drugs and drink. It’s everywhere.” After one year in Stella Maris, Vincent’s main aims are to get back into the community and to see his son, who still lives in Glasgow. He has discovered his passion and talent for writing poetry and hopes to continue to focus on this when he leaves Stella Maris and goes into long-term accommodation. Brian Higgins of De Paul Ireland explained the help available to residents when they leave. “There’s a befriending programme after a resident leaves helping them fit in with their local community because that’s something they have not had in such a long time,” he says. “Most of these people are completely alone when they come here. “Suicide rates on the streets are 35 times higher than anywhere else. “Our main aim here is to build a community for these people.” One of the most unusual and, to some, controversial aspects of Stella Maris is that the residents are allowed to
drink alcohol on the premises. Without this original factor, most of these people would be rejected and have to stay on the street, according to Brian Higgins. He believes the true aim of Stella Maris is “unlocking the individual’s potential, such as Vincent – he is an incredible poet”. Vincent cannot speak highly enough of the programme: “The staff are absolutely brilliant, this has been a life-changing experience for me.” Cara Brown, Mater Dei service user, also shares this
sense of belonging, security and change. “I’m originally from the Markets area of Belfast, I’ve lived everywhere, basically,” she explains. “I left school at 14, and was always working; I’ve never been on benefits. “When I had my first baby, it just got too much and I needed help.” Help was available to Cara and her family from another De Paul Ireland programme, Mater Dei. When Cara came from Fermanagh with her two-year-old daughter Mackenzie she had no help. “I had nothing,” she says. The accommodation centre was nothing like Cara had expected. She has her own apartment where
“I made some bad choices growing up but I didn’t have many options – there’s too much drugs and drink. It’s everywhere” – VINCENT O’BRIEN
she lives with her daughter Mackenzie and her baby son AJ. She felt that people judged the term ‘hostel’ too quickly and therefore judged her. “I had a problem in hospital when I gave birth to AJ,” she says. “One member of staff heard I was in a hostel and assumed I had to see a social worker. “I was treated differently and I felt really degraded. “People have no idea what this place is like. “They hear ‘hostel’ and think it’s a run-down place. “I find it really degrading when people treat you differently without knowing anything about it.” Brian Higgins says: “Our definition of a family is an adult and a child. “They might be single or have a partner. Same-sex couples, single men, single women, it doesn’t matter, we are here to help. “We have a great relationship with social services. They work with us and link in with our support team and it works really well.” Through Mater Dei, Cara is back in education. “I never thought I’d be back studying, I do health and social care three days a week,” she says. “I want to get back to work and work with families.” One thing Mater Dei and Stella Maris have in common is a strong desire to create links with the community around them. The residents of Stella Maris raised over £700 for Belfast’s Children’s Hospice last year. They did this by using a ‘swear-jar’. “That jar wasn’t hard to fill,” jokes Vincent.