An elderly homeless woman has been pictured eating food from a windowsill in Dublin’s city centre.
The Homeless Street Cafe, a volunteer group that provides food, clothes and toiletries on Grafton St to poverty-stricken people have said they watch this woman looking for food every week.
One volunteer posted the heartbreaking image online and said it’s horrifying to witness the hungry elderly.
The post read: “People always want to talk to us about the children we meet and how sad that is.
“If I’m honest I find the older generation that use our service even more heartbreaking.
“It seems there is no time left for change for them, a dearth of hope really.
“To be living in food or heat poverty at their age, relying on a soup kitchen for necessities is horrifying to witness.
“I watch this woman eat her meal from a plastic bowl on a window sill every week and I despair that this is her ‘golden years’.”
The group of volunteers take to Grafton St between 8pm and 11pm every Tuesday night and were also the charity that first found Sam, the five-year-old homeless boy who ate his dinner from cardboard on the streets.
The volunteers have said the reality on the ground is now “beyond crisis” and has called on the public to vote for a “radical change” in the upcoming General Election.
The post continued: “Tonight was essentially a “successful” night for us.
“We had food for everyone, lots of clothes and toiletries and even treats for most people.
“Our volunteers looked after our service users and our cooks and bakers outdid themselves.
“But even on your best night it’s nothing but a plaster or a bandaid on what is just a horrific wound.
“This issue is beyond crisis.
“Please vote with these people in mind on the 8th, the current government has failed miserably while claiming to be successful, time for radical change!”
