A documentary on the daily struggles of homeless people living on the streets of Dublin left RTE viewers "heart broken" at the realities of living on the street.
The latest figures show there were 83 people sleeping rough across Dublin's local authorities, according to the Dublin Homeless Region Homeless Executive Spring 2023 count. The count was carried out in the second week of March and represented a 9% decrease on the same period last year.
The people who appeared on the documentary gave blunt accounts of their lives on the streets. One man named Shane told how he was "embarrassed" at his situation.
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He said: "There’s no shower, nowhere to go to the toilet. I’m embarrassed in case someone might notice me. I’m not looking after myself. I still have a road to go down with my drug use. It’s not as bad as it was, but it’s not gone."
Another homeless man called Liam said he was proud to be Irish due to the support everyday people show him. He said: "I’m proud to be Irish today.
"Some days I’m not proud to be Irish, but I am today. You wouldn’t survive 20 years on the streets without the help and the love of the people of Ireland.
"If the people of Ireland turned their back on the homeless people, we’d all die in a week. I wouldn’t last a week without the help of the public. I wouldn’t last a week."
RTE viewers were shocked by the realities of life on the streets of Dublin and praised the documentary for highlighting the issue.
One viewer wrote: "My heart is broken after watching Am I Here?. We have failed so spectacularly as a society."
Another wrote: "Heart-breaking but it's also necessary viewing. Finally homeless and vulnerable folk are given a voice to tell their story. No one should have to sleep rough in this day and age."
A thirds wrote: "Am I Here is an incredibly sad and hugely important programme. There are massive systemic issues.
A fourth said: "On a day to day basis, though, our move to a largely cashless society has also had harsh consequences for these people in need. Few have coins on them to give anymore."
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