Paul KeenanDear Editor, For Br Kevin Crowley, that quiet Capuchin champion of the homeless to feel compelled to write a letter expressing concerns at Ireland’s levels of homelessness truly shows how far we have sunk into disgrace as a nation (‘Homelessness at crisis point – Br Kevin Crowley’, IC 29/5/14).
After 45 years operating the Capuchin Day Centre as a vital lifeline for the homeless, for Br Kevin to state that the homelessness situation is at its worst point in that time should give cause for deep reflection on the state of our society in 2014.
Br Kevin’s appeal for immediate action on behalf of the homeless and struggling home owners is timely, and not alone for the ‘crisis point’ we have reached but also given the sudden attempts by Government parties to paint themselves as concerned for the wellbeing of those who gave them such a drubbing in the recent elections.
To see a Government display a sudden ability to reach out to the vulnerable – via a rethink on medical cards previously deemed impossible – is galling in the rank hypocrisy shown by an administration that acts kindly only towards saving itself while demonstrating clearly how the populace is viewed by those in thrall to banks and big business.
If it were not for the drive of people such as Br Kevin in setting up safety nets for the vulnerable homeless (and those who subsists every day as homeowners under threat of imminent eviction), one is chilled to envisage the fate of those “on the side of the road” to quote the Capuchin.
We should all heed Br Kevin’s words and find one small way in which we can reach out to those who through no fault of theirs, find themselves ‘on the side of the road’.
Heaven knows, our elected representatives won’t.
Yours etc.,
David McCarthy,
Cabra,
Dublin 7.