A family who were left homeless after their landlord sold their rented accommodation have praised an independent Dublin outreach worker for helping them secure an apartment.
Couple Fran and Audrey and their three young children were unable to find a new place to live despite applying for hundreds of houses over the past few months.
The family were left officially homeless at the end of April and stayed in a Dublin hostel for a number of weeks.
Read more: Family stuck in hostel after landlord sold house 'just want place to call home'
Previously speaking to Dublin Live, Fran spoke about the stereotypes the family faced due to being homeless.
"People make judgements that were sponging off social welfare or whatever. Me and my wife have both worked since we were 15," he said.
"The only time we ever lost jobs was through recession. When we did lose a job, both of us went back to college to re-educate.
"My wife went back to college after she was made unemployed and now has a career from that.
"I tried to change my career before the last time I was made unemployed. When I lost my job due to Covid, I went back to college rather than sit around.
"I wanted to have something else to help me get a job."
Fran also explained that the family have looked for houses all over the country and are willing to move anywhere, but because the HAP payment is lower in countries outside of Dublin it is difficult to find anywhere.
"We'd move anywhere around the country if there would be a house for us. All we want is a place to call home," he said.
When they first became homeless, Fran made contact with outreach worker Theresa Kelly who began to help the family get back on their feet.
After liaising with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, she helped secure them a one-bedroom temporary apartment for them to stay in while they continue to search for rented accommodation.
Audrey said: "It has made our lives so much easier. I know we're still in emergency accommodation but we can go now and apply for houses and get back into the rental market for property.
"I actually couldn't believe it."
Audreyy said she had been "worried sick" about where the family would celebrate their twin sons' first birthday as they were staying in the hostel.
"I got the phone call the day that I was stressing about their birthday," she said.
"Theresa has given us those lovely memories to create for the boys.
"And our older son, he's able to plan it with us and decorate the little garden we have here.
"She gave us that. She facilitated that for us."
Fran praised Theresa for "constantly being in touch".
"She said she was going to sort it out and she did. She pushed and pushed and pushed," he said.
"The first day we moved into the hostel, Theresa said she was going to be up at the GPO.
"I went up with the kids and I saw her looking after a lad sitting on the ground and other people who were homeless there.
"Basically she asked one of the girls to get a bag from her car. She had brought books and little toys for the kids.
"My older son was delighted. She brought little trains and the babies were having great fun.
"She was making some light out of a bad situation. She cheered my son up, the little touch like that is great."
A spokesman for Dublin Region Homeless Executive told Dublin Live: "‘The DRHE does not comment on individual cases.
"A number of supports exist for families accessing Emergency Accommodation, to minimise the length of their stay.
"Households in NGO run accommodation receive onsite support, while families in private operated emergency facilities (PEAs) receive in-reach housing advice/social support from Focus Ireland and DRHE teams, as well as access to services provided by the HSE and TUSLA."
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