Stories of Struggle and Solidarity
Voices from the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
“I’m Tracy. Paddy and I, we got married off the streets. We had no home, just sleeping rough in derelict houses and B&Bs when we could. We never had a place until my second one was born. We didn’t have much of a start.
The happiest times in our lives were when we lived in Artane. We were overcrowded, but we liked it there. Paddy had his horse and cart, and he could collect scrap metal. That was his pride and joy. If we saw some homeless people we would always bring them home with us. At times it has been our downfall, but we couldn’t leave people on the street. We had been on the streets ourselves and knew what it was like.
To cut a long story short, we had to leave [Artane]. Paddy was left to sleep on the streets and me and the kids went to a B&B. We had two rooms there. Every morning we had to get out, whether it was nice weather or raining, you just had to get out. We used to meet with Paddy in the park, and stay there, go into a cafe for a while, kids and all. We could not cook where we were. We had to manage the best we could with what we had…
It’s easy to break a family but it is not easy to keep it together.
We all make mistakes. Some of us have been on drugs or drink. It’s not all our fault. It’s because of what happens in our lives. Some parents have had a worse life than others, especially if they have been brought up in children’s homes. They need more help and support again and again.
Some families have been homeless for two or four or seven years even, in B&Bs and hostels. That’s not right. That’s all over Dublin: children grow up like that, they have no privacy as a family. Everyone is on top of one another. I know what it does to a family.
Just because we are homeless, we count for nothing. We must stand up and not let people treat us like that. We are the people who live it, we are the people who have to do something about it, and hope someday we will change things for the better for everyone.
Today I talk for the people that can’t talk for themselves. I tell them to fight for their rights with their brains, not their fists. I know that if we get together and stand for our rights, we will win. What we want is a better life for ourselves and for our children, because the children are our future.
I believe that things will change. I know it.” Tracy Redmond, Dublin.
This is an edited version of one of the many life stories featured in Stories of Struggle and Solidarity: Voices from the 17th October UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The book gives voice to individuals, families and communities for whom poverty and social exclusion are daily realities. Their words are moving and inspiring, all the more so because the lives they refer to are powerful, made up of countless acts of resistance and courage, and filled with gestures of friendship and support against all the odds. Above all, these stories are a call for governments to work in partnership with those living in poverty, not for them.
