Rental crisis forces student to sleep on office floor

(Photo posed by model)
From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The critical lack of suitable student accommodation is summed up in the life of one Galway student who is forced to sleep on the floor of his workplace – unable to afford spiralling rents in the city.

Speaking to the Galway City Tribune, Mark (not his real name) said such was the gravity of the student accommodation crisis, his situation had become almost “normal” – and the fact that they’re homeless is not apparent to the outside world.

“We are just normal people. I work; don’t take drugs and I’m not a heavy drinker. I manage my money so I can stay in a hostel from time to time.

“On a practical level, I don’t have a wardrobe so my clothes might be a bit creased, but otherwise, people wouldn’t notice,” he said.

Mark, who is in his early twenties, is a student at NUI Galway and works part-time. When he gets paid at the end of the month, he puts aside enough to ensure that he can stay in a hostel for at least a couple of nights a week – so that he can shower and wash his clothes. But he simply doesn’t have enough to cover the city’s rising rents.

“I’d say out of a month, altogether I would have around seven days in a hostel. They have laundry facilities in the hostel and showers. Outside of that, I can wash my clothes in the sink and I keep myself clean by washing in the sink.

“I’ve been wearing the same outfit since Sunday,” he said when speaking to us on Wednesday. “The thing is, there are so many other students in the same position as me, so I don’t feel sorry for myself. It’s a comfortable enough place to sleep [at work].”
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