A Dublin woman revealed how she's "at a breaking point" after being unable to find a home despite going to 33 viewings.
Laura (name changed for anonymity) works a full-time job as a housekeeper and has been struggling to find a place to live for nearly a year.
The 25-year-old has been living in a homeless hostel in Dublin city centre.
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She told Dublin Live: "I've been to 33 viewings and not one has accepted me.
"I know there’s a lot of people going to the viewings but there are some viewings I’ve gone to and it’ll be me or one other person. It’s one in two chances again and I still haven’t been accepted.
"I’ve reached out to everyone - TDs, the Minister for Housing, Threshold, and even other charities in Dublin. Minister Darragh O'Brien said he couldn’t get involved in individual cases.
"Then local TDs said you just have to keep looking. They can’t really do anything. I’m at a breaking point with it, to be honest."
Laura has been homeless since June 2021 after she fled from an abusive home.
She said: "Since I was younger, I’ve never had a normal life living in the house. My dad is an alcoholic and was quite abusive so I ended up in a women's refuge but that was only short-term accommodation."
Laura was put on a council list last summer and has been since accepted for HAP.
She said: "My experience so far with landlords has been that there’s a lot of stigma around the homeless HAP.
"People living in homeless accommodation [the landlords] won’t accept it even though I’m a really genuine person.
"I’m in employment but I think the landlords just focus on why the person is getting homeless HAP and why they’ve become homeless."
For Laura living in a homeless hostel has resulted in her mental health deteriorating rapidly from the stress.
She said: "I’m applying to private accommodation so, not a room in a shared house. Somewhere I can just go in, lock the door behind me, and I’m by myself.
"I haven’t been particular on one place in Dublin. I’ll take anywhere, to be honest."
She added: "The council contributes €990 per month towards the rent for myself. So if I found somewhere for €1,300, I’d have to find the extra €310.
"But the minute an estate agent sees HAP or homeless HAP and that the council is paying something towards, they just don’t want to deal with it."
Laura continued: "I am a very hard working and motivated young person just waiting for one landlord to give me the chance I need to rent.
"I can't get my head around it. I have a really good CV for my age and great references from head chefs in Dublin and the US."
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