St Vincent de Paul appeals for support

“IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Many people will recognise these words as the opening of Charles Dickens ‘A tale of Two Cites’ written in 1866. But, it could have been written this week to describe life in our country.

The best of times for those who are doing well and the worst of times for many suffering in poverty.

In fact, there are 760,00 people living below the poverty line. Almost 110,000 working and in poverty. 61% are struggling with education costs, including one third of all third level students reporting they are in serious financial difficulty.

And, the most distressing and shameful statistic of them all – more than 10,000 people without a home, including almost 4,000 children.

How can we as a society have got things so wrong that the spectacle of seeing a small child eating his dinner on a city street no longer shocks us? Or the tents set up in various parts of our cities and towns that have become part of the landscape? When and how did all this become normal?

As I speak, thousands of parents around the country are worried sick that they can’t put food on the table or heat their homes. Never mind start to think about Christmas – the presents, decorations or having friends and family come to visit.

Christmas is actually a time of great stress and worry because it means parents have to look at the disappointed faces of their children who have stopped asking for anything because they know the answer is “sorry, we can’t”.

As we launch our annual appeal, we think about those human beings behind the statistics. We, as members of St Vincent de Paul, meet them every day in every corner and, thanks to the unbelievable support given us by the public, we bring them not only friendship and support.

But, most importantly, we bring hope.

Thanks to the generosity of the public, Christmas will arrive for thousands of families that otherwise would not have one.

Your help will not only guide them through winter but enable us to make a long term difference to their lives in the New Year.

Kieran Stafford, national president, St Vincent de Paul.