Homeless
Social problems have increased so suddenly and been dramatized so effectively since the plight of the homeless in the
1980s and 1990s.
Once an invisible people who could easily be ignored, the homeless are now recognized everywhere on the streets and in the public facilities of major cities. There are bag ladies that roam the streets carrying what is left of their possessions in shopping bags or grocery carts. There are disoriented men curled up on benches, in stairwells, or alongside walls. There are children--some runaways and some throwaways--scrounging for food and shelter. One reason for statistical uncertainty is the composition of the homeless population. Some families suffer temporary poverty because of loss of a job. Unable to afford rent or mortgage payments, they may temporarily join the ranks of the homeless for a period of days or weeks (or they may live with relatives). Once another job is found, the family can usually afford shelter once more. The National Institute of Mental Health has estimated that one third of the homeless in the 1980s were former mental patients who had been discharged under deinstitutionalization programs. Many of the homeless are also addicted to drugs or alcohol or both. Some are victims of structural unemployment--temporary, but massive, changes in an economy. Others become homeless when the eligibility rules for assistance change or when the supply of low-rent housing runs out. Some members of the homeless population are voluntary in the sense that they leave intolerable situations within their former homes. Battered wives and abused or neglected children become runaways, living on the streets or in shelters opened by charities. People who are deemed or referred to temporary overnight accommodation are usually referred to hostel accommodation however there is a big strain on hostel resources, couples may be separated into "men's" and "women's" hostels depending on the rules of the hostel they choose to stay in. Below are three hostel addresses in Cork City that may be of use to people looking for overnight accommodation. (Women's Hostels) Edel House. Termon - gratton St, Cork. Tel; 021 - 4274240. (Men's Hostels) St Vincents Hostel, Anglesea Terrace, Anglesea St, Cork. Tel; 021 - 4317899. Simon Community. Andersons Quay. Cork. Tel; 021 - 4278734.
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