Increasing numbers of young men are dropping out of regular society and becoming homeless, according to volunteers at a hostel in Waterford.
Mr Sam Cleere, a member of the management board at the Men's Hostel in Lady Lane, says a co-ordinated approach to the growing problem of homelessness is needed at all levels of society.
The hostel, run by the Society of St Vincent de Paul, has 52 residents aged between 24 and 86. It also provides meals for men sleeping rough, many of whom have severe alcohol addiction problems.
In the past, says Mr Cleere, it would have been "almost unheard of" for men in their early 20s to seek the services of the hostel, but that is no longer the case.
"The age profile of homeless people is decreasing rapidly, here and elsewhere. But they have the same problems as before: alcohol addiction, literacy problems and emotional problems, so in that respect little has changed."
As a first step, he believes, Waterford needs a 24-hour emergency shelter for people who are drinking on the streets. Drink is not allowed on the premises at Lady Lane, and some of the residents are recovering alcoholics.
"If we had a separate `wet hostel' where people could come, sit down, listen to the radio and watch TV while having a few drinks, irrespective of their condition, it would be beneficial to all. When you have men trying to come off the drink in the vicinity of others who are drinking, the temptation is too much for them."
Mr Cleere says the commitment to address the homelessness issue now appears to exist at national level, following the report of an inter-departmental study on the problem. Following that study, local authorities are drawing up strategies to deal with homelessness, in consultation with service providers and voluntary bodies.
A change in attitude is needed at all levels of society if there is to be progress, however. While street drinking is a serious problem for society at large, it cannot be tackled by by-laws alone, he believes.
"You are dealing with people who have a serious illness, who are in the chronic stages of alcoholism. "We need to put structures in place to help people to kick the habit."
A FAS community employment project, for example, has helped 35 residents of Lady Lane to move out and live independently over the past five years. Twelve of the current residents are participating in the project.
"This is a problem for society and it is everyone's responsibility."
Mr Paddy Barry, from Waterford city, has been homeless for 20 years and is an occasional resident of the hostel.
"I was here last night because the weather was pretty bad but normally I sleep rough. I like to be out. I've slept in hay barns, caravans, tents, ditches and doorways." In the recent past he has been sleeping in an open field, in a sleeping bag.
He is on Waterford Corporation's housing list and would like a caravan. "I'm unsettled in my ways because I have no way to get my act together. If I had a place where I could go in, close the door and retreat from the world, I could maybe get myself together and get a job."
His last job, 18 years ago, was as a porter at the AIB bank in Michael Street. He had already experienced family problems as his parents had a large number of children and grandchildren and were unable to cope.
"They didn't look after me but I didn't look after myself either." He suffered a nervous breakdown, lost his job and "became a vagrant after that. A homeless vagrant with no sense of time or sense of anything."
He also began drinking. "You get used to it. You become complacent. You accept it and after a while you just don't give a damn and you plod through life.
"If I had a caravan I don't think that would be the case. I might get a job on a farm or something. If you're working you have some kind of say in matters that affect other people and affect you. But if you're not working you don't have dignity or self-respect."
The Lady Lane hostel is financially supported by the South Eastern Health Board and the Department of the Environment and Local Government, and also by the residents themselves, who pay rent of £30 a week.
Mr Cleere says the hostel, and the Society of St Vincent de Paul, would welcome volunteers. The hostel's phone number is 051-872708.
