‘Drugs took everything from me’
You could have heard a pin drop as Jennifer Dennehy recalled how she battled through a drug addiction and homelessness as she launched the latest Cork Simon Report.
In her speech launching the Annual Impact Report for 2018, Jennifer recounted her experience of homelessness and the challenges she faced to secure long-term housing.
She spoke of the trauma of her partner’s untimely death which lead to a drug relapse and homelessness. She talked about her ensuing recovery and her struggle to find secure, affordable housing.
Jennifer also spoke of her deep and enduring love for her son who inspired her to turn her life around. Recounting how she relapsed following the death of her partner, Jennifer said: “Within a few weeks, I lost my home, I lost my child, I lost the man I loved – everything. Drugs took everything from me. I tried treatment but I wasn’t ready to deal with the pain of everything and the guilt, because I was guilt-ridden. I left treatment and ended up on the street.”
Now living independently with support from Cork Simon, she said: “I’ve lived a living hell and came out the other side. To have my own door, to feel safe at night, there’s nothing like it. I’m blessed to have the place and the support from Cork Simon. My key worker’s been there for me through everything and I am so grateful to have her. You need somebody that you can trust.”
In recovery over four years now, Jennifer felt the time was right to tell her story publicly with the intention of offering hope to people who may be where she once was. “I felt I had to survive so I put a mask on. Today that mask is off and I am who I was always meant to be – a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a granddaughter and hopefully someone who can help others. I want to let other people that are in addiction, and their families that are going through hard times, know that there’s always hope there, there’s always help there - you’ve just got to be willing to accept it.”
Jennifer concluded her speech saying: “I never realised, for a long time I had everything in front of me - a good family. And family is the most important thing in the world. Today they tell me how proud they there are of me. My brother tells me I’m the strongest women he knows. If I can pull myself back from where I was and have the life I have today, anyone can. Don’t get me wrong, I have my bad days, I have days where I don’t want to get up out of bed - but I do it, knowing that I’ve a second chance.”
Jennifer’s story, Cork Simon say, reflects many of the challenges faced by the people supported by charity in 2018.
Responding to Jennifer’s speech, Cork Simon Director, Dr Dermot Kavanagh, said: “Jennifer is a courageous and kind woman who has overcome great adversity and we’re most grateful to her for sharing her story which highlights many of the challenges that people we support faced in 2018, in particular the severe lack of affordable and secure housing and the need for trauma-informed services that are sensitive to the needs of people who have often suffered great loss, isolation and anxiety.”
Some of the figures
at a glance:
• 24 additional housing units were secured in 2018 from social rentals, other approved housing bodies and from our own purchase of five properties
• 43 people moved to secure and affordable, independent housing with visiting support and to high-support/aftercare housing – a 54 per cent increase from 2017
• Housing Support Services supported a total of 194 people to either maintain their tenancies, take steps towards securing independent accommodation, or live in High Support Houses with round-the-clock care
• The Addiction and Aftercare Treatment Programme supported 40 people to rebuild their lives through treatment and aftercare
• Between the emergency shelter and Nightlight service, an average of 57 people per night last year relied on Cork Simon emergency accommodation
• 22 per cent of people supported at Cork Simon’s Soup Run were in private rented accommodation