22 Simon Communities in Ireland Hostels were horrible, you know, because there are grown women who have kids and, you know, they were horrible and I was only a kid myself, 15, 16 years old. And I kind of, you grow up very fast, you know. I just coped with it, I just got on with it, you know … just prayed that I wouldn’t be hurt and just kept quiet, you know.” (Rosie, 38) There were also reports of positive experiences. For example, while Isobel (quoted above) talked about the need to protect herself in a hostel setting where other residents were “streetwise”, she also benefited from learning that others had faced similar challenges. “I ended up being in there hostel, it was the best thing that happened to me, being able to sit in a hostel and have women or have people, do you know, look at people and know they are going through the same experience as you and knowing that you are not out on your own.” (Isobel, 21) Additionally, many women often spoke at length about how they were grateful for the shelter, amenities, facilities and protection that hostels provided as well as the positive relationships that they had established with particular staff members or key workers. “Well here hostel I have a roof over my head, it’s warm, it’s cosy, there’s anything you want, the staff will get it, if you want to go anywhere they’ll bring you … ‘Oh here’, it’s just like amazing.” (Maeve, 43) Nonetheless, the pressures associated with living in hostels were significant for the women. Increased exposure to alcohol and drug use was invariably reported and a large number told that their use of substances had escalated following their entry to homeless services. In many accounts, substance use was depicted as a form of self-medication used to counteract feelings of anxiety, trauma and stress: “Everything had just boiled up inside my head you know, and I felt a drink would help it but it really didn’t” (Amy, 22). The physical conditions and omnipresence of alcohol or drugs in some service settings also appeared to be a significant driver of women’s movements through services. Some, for example, wanted to avoid settings that permitted alcohol use while others opted, at particular junctures, to stay in these environments. “I knew like coming back to hostel 1 it was full of gear heroin and full of drink and sometimes I wouldn’t bother coming back because they wouldn’t leave me in, so then I ended up in hostel 2, so then I got two weeks down there.” (Roisín, 37) Many also highlighted concerns related to victimisation, bullying and/or intimidation by other service users. Sofia and her two children had experienced racism and harassment in a food centre while Rosie explained that she wanted to “get out” of her accommodation because of tensions between residents and the pressures and stresses associated with hostel life. “I don’t want to go there food centre anymore. It’s ugly, there are drug addicts, it’s very bad for the children, so bad for them … It’s very intimidating, sometimes fights and I don’t want to go there but we are forced to. I wouldn’t go there if I didn’t have to. We have no other option.” (Sofia, 34)
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
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