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OLD AGE INEVITABLY brings retirement. And, often, retirement can lead to boredom and isolation.
These were the feelings that shrouded a retired Dublin schoolteacher three years ago.
Brian MolloY faced up to it, deciding to shake off the ennui by becoming a volunteer.
“About 2006, I worked with Depaul Ireland,” he told TheJournal.ie. “I retired three years ago from teaching and I had time on my hands. I wanted to be involved and it occurred to me to do it again.”
Depaul provides outreach and accommodation services for people experiencing homelessness in Dublin, Belfast, Dungannon and Derry. It makes almost 400 beds available to men, women and children, supporting more than 2,000 people annually.
Molloy is one of 340 volunteers who work in family, criminal, mental health, community and harm reduction services.
“I used to work with a person in the community who was being settled,” he explains. “I visited him once a fortnight for a year and a half.”
Before retiring, he worked first as a primary school teacher and then in a second-chance education centre for adults in Dublin 8.
Initially interested in working in hospitals, the Dublin native decided to volunteer in Sundial House, a wet hostel for long-term homeless alcoholics.
He visits the clients in the hospital once a week and spends four days a week at the accommodation service, which offers a ‘bed for life’ to its 30 residents.
“I was appointed to here because quite a lot of them find themselves in hospital where they are quite isolated.
At present, I visit the hospital every Tuesday. Some will have visits from family, others will have none at all. They will say that I’m the only one who visits them.
But the volunteering system is a two-way street.
“When I retired, I found myself in isolation and a certain amount of boredom. I get an awful lot from here,” he says. “I get an awful lot from the staff who are very welcoming and, in a special way, from the residents. The interaction with the residents is very life-giving to me.”
Molloy has created friendships with residents over the years, and continues to stay in touch with a number who have left and are now in nursing homes or other accommodation services.
“One thing that heartens me is when I hear of a resident who has gone for detox and wants to get treatment,” he continues, but equally there are more difficult aspects of the job.
“A thing that disturbs me is when someone is evidently harming themselves and won’t give up. It’s the whiskey, in particular. You can see how it’s affecting their liver, their health.”
During his days at Sundial, Molloy runs a Breakfast Club for the residents.
The first meal of the day is particularly important for users as it is often the only meal they will consume before they start imbibing.
It also gives them a rare social setting.
“It gets them out of their room, where I think they spend a lot of time. It’s isolating. About 10 people a day come and talk to each other. It also keeps them off drink for that period.”
Nutrition is an important element of the services provided by Sundial and the cooked breakfast is central to the programme, as is a baking class that he also helps with.
Molloy has also undertaken a different project to document the residents’ life stories.
“That I do on a one-to-one basis. It’s very special as it gets them to reflect back on their lives. For some, we do their life on the streets. One of the residents spent 10 years living on the streets.
“They really get a lot out of it. Often, they are proud of their lives. I put the final product together in a book for them.”
Molloy has encouraged others, including his brother, to consider volunteering on retirement.
“It doesn’t have to be with homeless services,” he said, “Find something that suits you and it gives you an extra lease of life as you get older.”
Top image: Andrew Bennett via Flickr/Creative Commons
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Who cares? We’re all moving to Gaza soon anyways.
@Pól Pot: can’t wait it’s gonna be the vegas of the Middle East
@Housing Hunger Games: yeah ,we can all move to the west bank , social housing with sunshine, getting drunk every night and singing songs from Fiddler on it Roof “if I was a rich man ” echoing over the sands
@Housing Hunger Games: They won’t need to, those supporting Hamas will take them in!
@Housing Hunger Games: I can’t be looking after anyone presently. I’m going around burning all the copies of Freckleface Strawberry. That hate speech propaganda must be eradicated. Cancel Julianne Moore!
@Dixie: Reminds me of when Beruit was the Paris of the Mediterranean. Graham Greene Cocktails.
@Housing Hunger Games: We’ll leave that to the Tea-towel brigade that are marching around with Hamas flags every week. Should be spare rooms in some of the €600k social housing that many of them live in.
@Thomas Sheridan: The problem then is that puberty blockers are haram. The Palestinians will realise what they are, and turn on them.
@Housing Hunger Games: They can go to Jordan. The real Palestine.
Ah no, nobody wants terrorists… not even Muslim countries.
@Alex: Palestinians are not terrorists. They’re freedom fighters who’ve had their lands robbed from them and have been mistreated brutally for over 100 years. Who wanted the Jews? That there lies the conundrum.
@Pól Pot: Solomon was not a nice guy, who cares, we have golf courses coming
@TheGood Feign: He always gave me half.
@Pól Pot: The Hamas terrorist regime claims 90% support amongst the wider Gaza population, which seems to contradict your claim.
They were offered peace in 2005, but instead, literally gng fo broke, they chose war and destruction.
@Thomas Sheridan: Goes back a bit furthet. The Palestinians were promised independence by the Allies from the Ottoman Empire to help out in WW1. They sent in T. E. Lawrence to assure them who ended up deeply ashamed by the carry-on at The Treaty of Versailles. Chaim Weizmann understood Western politics better than the Arabs who were more accustomed to accepting a man’s handshake and word. The land was robbed.
@Housing Hunger Games: No, it’s those opposing Israel who will demonstrate solidarity and take in Palestinians.
@Alex: @Thomas Sheridan: Here’s an Israeli professor than puts in quite nicely.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o6S-puqVhe8
Summary: if you believe that Hamas is evil and needs to be eradicated, then so too does the Israeli government.
As all the evil there comes begins with Israel, then the solution is the eradication of Israel.
Iam sure if they inspected some people’s homes, they’d fail some of them too.
You don’t have too supply a microwave bs
@Patrick: Read it and weep into your stack of money, you scabby git: https://www.rtb.ie/registration-and-compliance/rights-and-responsibilities/minimum-standards-regulations-and-fire-safety
@Patrick: And it’s “to”, not “too”. You’re obviously of old money, no need for schooling. You’d know that if you ever had to write a CV, and weren’t just handed everything.
@Patrick: and a weeks supply of micro wave dinners.
@Meh Meh: you speak like someone with a net worth of -€32.60
@Patrick: Inspection is a lot of horse manure. Properties without now need window restrictors, so not to open the windows fully. Yet sufficient ventilation is required. Toddlers may fall out of windows, because parents don’t supervise. So LL don’t want to let out to young families. Ah, the nonsense…
@Patrick: for rentals, they do. I never use one so I said there’s no need. But I was told that one has to be provided. It’s still sitting in the box taking up space I don’t have. I use my job and oven daily, I’ve no need for a microwave at all at all.
@S banter: *hob
Evict them all
I can’t believe you need to provide a dryer. Get the boat! clothes horse and rads will do the job, ventilate and heat the house.
@Fiona Wyse: Yup seriously Fiona… firstly it would need to be a condenser which also eats the electricity. I haven’t rented since my early 20s but expecting a microwave?! Are they for real?? You were lucky to get a mattress that wasn’t too stained!!
@Fiona Wyse: Look at your title. In managed estates you can’t dry outside or inside. Needs tumble dryer. Needless to say humidity still released into apartment! Any questions as to why small LL leaving market?
@Fiona Wyse: a dryer, for the rents these days you’d expect somebody on hand to operate it and do the ironing FSS!
@smatrix mantra: I lived in an apartment for 5 years and I always had my washing out on the balcony, I had it covered over with fake trellis.
Humidity in an apartment is not a problem once you ventilate correctly and heat appropriately.
Ironically that same apartment was rented out to Meath County Council, no dryer required then! And they wouldn’t have gotten it either, if a homeowner can live without it, then a renter can as well. Buy one yourself if you want it.
I am a landlord all my 3 bedroom houses are 850 euro per month all my tenants are happy with me, if they call need something fixed l get it done l have good tenants.My problem is the councils inspections you fail for no window restrickers on all windows moss on roof really silly things that no council houses would pass.when l point out that the council will not do anything for there tenants and show them council houses with grass growing in their shores they say ,we are only interested in private rentals.no house would pass there inspections. 40 percent tax it so galling. The lunatics have taking over the asylum. But it’s ok to leave people in tents and crowded homeless centres.give me a break.
I’m shocked
@Jp Cleary: likewise
Is anyone gob smacked I doubt it!!
Evict the trolls from the journal.
@Jb Walshe: we need to evict tourists from hotels while they’re here on holidays, and fill them up with refugees from Gaza. This will give our economy the boost it needs.
@Jb Walshe: do I get to decide who is a troll?
@Oh Mammy: Such a troll comment laughing…
Can’t say there’s any surprise there after seeing ads for a single room with a bed, a hob, and a toilet for 2,000/ month.
Rathmines got renovicted, Ranelagh same thing. Both were extortionate for what can only be described as a double bedroom with and ensuite and questionable cooking “facilities” IN the room. Had to jump through hoops with background etc just for these dumps. There is something very wrong with this system and has been for a long long time. The first was owned by a local politician and the second a garda. This was nearly 15 years ago. This system has been broken for quite some time.
@Emma Higgins: Tenements are alive and well in D6. Some of the places I’ve lived in were pure squalor, but cheap. Now, years later, it’s the same, but %400 dearer. I am charged extra for apparently “having pets”, even though the rats came free with the bedsit. (Bedsits were outlawed years ago, so now we’ve to call them studios).
@Meh Meh: No need to have a 4 hob stove , washing machine and, microwave in ‘studios’ up to 16m2. For a single person, 2 hob is enough. Places are too cramped, no noise insulation in old houses, so if somebody decide to use a washing machine after midnight, no sleep guaranteed. it is like a tornado. ‘Modern’ very expensive tenements. Saw new ones on Grove Park with bunkbeds and own kitchen in the space which looks max 14m2.
In contravention of nine of said standards? So say, eight, or seven is okay?
@Meh Meh: no that’s incorrect…poorly worded id say
Mine is in breach of so many. Made worse because the landlord thinks he’s a DIY master and refuses to ever hire anybody, plunging the boiler/immersion/shower/roof/sink/oven/fire closer to disaster with each “fix”. Not even registered with the RTB, but what can we do? The alternative is having nowhere, not even a crumbling shack with rats in the inaccessible attic. The best small country in the world in which to do business!!
Just to be very clear – If a property fails on nine points does it receive ONE improvement letter or NINE improvement letters? The article should state that. I assume it’s just one letter, right?
@john murray: they receive a P45 from Mary Lou and her Sharia Fein constituents.
@Joe Willis: All the while, the elected committee fffg don’t really care, joe. Ok, I got it now…
@Paul Gorry: I’m glad we’re on the same page Pauline
Have they inspected their own properties?
@Declan Canty: Of course not, that’s why the last line from PBP is pure comedy gold. Only thing the landlords should do is serve the tenants with their notice and send them to SDCC to get housed.
Yeah but at least they are cheap to rent
In other countries when you rent, you get the shell and nothing else. In Germany, the landlord has to supply light fittings and the kitchen sink. The bathroom is the only kitted out room in a rental. Everything else is to be brought in by the tenant.
@Athena: That’s reflected in the rent though, which is not nearly as extortionate as here in Ireland, add to this that rental law in Germany is a whole lot different than here, as tenants have way better rights
@Larissa Caroline Nikolaus: Correct, rents are high enough but people are typically in long term rental agreements. Not a bad system at all, take a look for instance at the concept of Mietspiegel.
Ok, seeing some pot shots between vested interests here…..Let’s get real here, the problem isn’t the renters or those renting the real problem is above them.
This “sounds” shocking, until you realise what some of the regulations actually are. Most people’s own homes would fail. It’s almost a scam and money for jam for the inspectors for little work. And we wonder why landlords are being driven out of the market. Common sense should prevail here, but it does not.
“Have both natural and artificial light in each room, per Housing Standards 2019 regulations “. Does that mean that the majority of apartments fail this standard as the majority of them only have 1 exterior wall. How can they get planning permission based on this regulation.
Absolutely shocking!
How can this happen and where are the building inspectors?
I thought all stages of the construction of buildings had to be signed off on, otherwise what’s the point of the building regulations????
Still, good news that there has to be 9 breaches before action is taken.
@Ben dover: I’m not sure what’s being stated here but that’s not the case. You can be sanctioned for one or any number of issues. Many are daft and over zealous as previously stated. Many are related to poor landkord standards for sure but just as many through poor tenant habits etc.
Wow that last paragraph was not spell checked at all.
I flagged the mould and damp issues years ago when I moved in. Nothing was done about it and I was just told, eh it’s an old building. Had an inspection in late November and had to get walls repainted and treated etc for the issues. I wasn’t out of pocket for the works thankfully but having to sort and arrange it all took a lot. A lot of gas boiler inspectors won’t come into the city centre either due to lack of parking. Loads on the list let me down and never showed, when I’d arranged to be home specifically for their confirmed time. We don’t have the option to just move somewhere else if there are problems, beggars can’t be choosers so I just had to live with it.
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