Homeless man sleeps in car with dogs

A homeless man is sleeping in a car with his two pets on the streets of Galway each night, because he is unable to find suitable accommodation and is unwilling to be separated from his ‘best friends’.
A ‘snapshot’ census of homeless people carried out by local social services charity COPE Galway over a 24-hour period found a total of 13 people are sleeping rough in the city, while a further 28 adults and 27 kids are among the hidden homeless – ‘couch surfers’ living with family and friends.
The news comes as 26 high-profile Galwegians sleep rough for tonight as part of COPE’s ‘Sleep Out’ event to raise up to €50,000.
Those involved include Joe O’Donovan, CEO of Galway Clinic; City Council Chief Executive, Brendan McGrath, and Mark Gantly, Managing Director of Hewlett Packard in Galway.
The COPE survey recorded one man who is currently sleeping in a car.
“He has two pets he is unwilling to give up and so it is not possible to accommodate him in emergency accommodation. He needs to secure single accommodation that accepts pets, that also accepts rent allowance and is below the rent cap,” the report reads.
Another 12 people were sleeping rough – five had been given blankets or sleeping bags; another six presented to COPE in the morning who had clearly slept rough and two were living in a squat.
A total of 45 adults and 24 children (26 single men and 8 single women) were being houses in emergency accommodation; two more single women were being accommodated in tourist accommodation and five staying in transitional accommodation (Bridge House).
There were 19 adults and 17 children in contact with COPE who were at imminent risk of losing their accommodation.
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.