Limerick mum 'terrified' of facing homelessness with daughter, 10
Mum-of-one will stay anywhere on a bus route in city
A LIMERICK woman says she’s “terrified” of being left homeless with her 10-year-old daughter.
Donna Acheson has been given notice to quit her two-bedroom city centre apartment as her landlord is selling the property.
She has to be out by this Wednesday, and will then be going from hotel to hotel, due to the lack of homes available.
The council will pay for people facing homelessness to stay in hotels in emergency cases like Donna’s, where there are children involved.
It’s understood if she was not a parent to a young child, she would face having to go to the nine-to-nine hostel.
This is a facility which affords homeless people a bed between 9am and 9pm.
With hotel availability limited due to it being the peak tourist season, the 33-year-old admits she is “terrified” at the lack of certainty.
Donna, who hails from Old Cork Road originally, says she has been out sick from work with worry, and is particularly scared for her daughter Emily.
“My heart is breaking for her. It’s bad enough me on my own, but for my 10-year-old, it’s heartbreaking,” said the mum-of-one.
Having been on the housing list since she is 18, Donna says she would happily live anywhere in the city bounds, so long as it is connected to a bus route.
That’s because she works full-time in retail in the city centre, near where her daughter goes to school.
“I’ve worked since I was 16, I’ve never been without work, I’ve always paid my way. I’ve never been thrown out of anywhere,” she said.
Councillor Sarah Beasley said: “This is the homelessness crisis in a nutshell.”
She has called for the council to block-book hotel rooms ahead of the summer when hotels tend to be fully booked.
Cllr Beasley added on a regular basis, up to 20 people a day are queuing up outside her constituency office at Thomas Street in need of a place to stay.
Council said it cannot comment on individual cases.