Dubliners got a wake-up call during their morning commute on Monday, with wooden boxes placed around the city reading: “WE NEED REAL SOLUTIONS.”
Just in front of Busaras, a 'shelter pod' highlighting homelessness pic.twitter.com/8zCCaK6zRy
— Louise Williams (@loureports) February 15, 2016
The “shelter pods” are part of a campaign by Gimme Shelter Ireland calling for a solution to homelessness.
Part street art, part temporary housing, the large wooden boxes display a stark message about the dire state of homelessness in Ireland's capital city:
"In October 2015, 150 people were sleeping rough in Dublin. There are up to 1,616 children living in emergency accommodation.”
@broadsheet_ie shelter pod from the front pic.twitter.com/CgCNyYvVWC
— Louise Williams (@loureports) February 15, 2016
"Sleeping rough" means sleeping on the streets, as opposed to in a shelter or other accommodation for homeless people. According to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, the total number of homeless individuals in Dublin has been steadily increasing over the last few years, reaching 3,328 in late 2015.
The campaign is asking people to sign a petition calling for the Irish government to include the right to housing in the constitution.
“We built these pods to provide some semblance of security for a fraction of the people sleeping rough in Dublin,” the campaign website reads. “We know these pods are not a sustainable solution to the homelessness crisis. We built them because we were saddened and ashamed of the State's efforts, or lack thereof, to tackle homelessness.”
As part of the campaign, Gimme Shelter has posted a video on its website, featuring a homeless man talking about the fear and insecurity of sleeping on the streets:
"You don't know, from one minute to the next, if they're going to try to rob you or jump on you... You have to be watching your back."
The video concludes with a powerful call to action: “Every person has the right to a home. We need real solutions. Sign the petition.”
Gimme Shelter Ireland -- "an ownerless campaign that was started by a group of friends and concerned citizens" -- is criticizing the government for the steep decrease in spending on affordable housing over the last decades. They also point to a government pledge to end homelessness by 2016, which so far has gone unfulfilled.
Paudie Coffey, the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Housing, said on RTE News' Claire Byrne Live last month that the government has committed €4 billion to tackle the issue of homelessness over the next five years. So far, Coffey said, the government has provided 13,000 additional housing units, and 2,000 people have exited homelessness in the past year.
The shelter pods were strategically positioned in front of government outposts: the General Post Office (the GPO), the principal chamber of the Irish legislature (the Dail), the central bus station (the Busaras), and the Central Bank. These placements send a clear message to officials that this campaign is aimed at them.
Some of the pods have been moved since they were put into place Monday morning. Social media users are pointing out the critical message is now blocked.
I went by the Central Bank and the @gimmeshelterire pod was moved to the side, facing a wall, its message blocked. pic.twitter.com/GKSR2EdYIb
— Padraic Ryan (@ryan_padraic) February 15, 2016
All of the writing wasn't hidden though, with the black and red stamps on the sides leaving passersby with some serious food for thought:
“This is a shelter pod. This is not a solution.”
h/t The Journal
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