Homeless mum forced to live in tent in The Rocks
A 26-year-old mother of two is living in appalling conditions in a tent on The Rocks in Wexford because she says she can’t find and anyone willing to offer her a home, even a temporary one.
‘It’s freezing up there, I can’t cope any longer,’ said Michelle Cummins Wall, tears streaming down her face as she tells of her life on the streets of the town in the build-up to Christmas, one of several people in similarly dire circumstances.
‘Last week I slept one night on a cardboard box in the doorway besides Subway,’ she said.
Michelle said she had been attacked and had clothes stolen from the tent on the Rocks and didn’t feel safe there.
She claimed she had been to every agency in the town that would listen to her, but so far apart from ‘ tea and sympathy’, she had not been offered any accommodation, other than a house in the town centre that didn’t work out.
She said she had stayed at the Women’s Refuge in Wexford for four months and had then moved into a house in School Street, however, she had had a falling out with her landlord and since then had been sleeping rough. Michelle said her problems began when she and her partner split up earlier this year and because she had no permament home, he was now caring for their children, aged six and two years old.
She freely admits to living a troubled life, but stays everyone deserves to have a roof over their head.
‘I can’t even think about getting the children back until I have a permanent home, but I would take anything anyone would be prepared to offer me at this stage, even a temporary home, because I am really desperate,’ said Michelle, who moved to Wexford from Waterford four years ago.
Anyone able to help Michelle can reach her through ‘Mary’ on 089 2085203.