Homelessness, Ageing and Dying 29 CIARAN Ciaran had a difficult family life because of a violent father. He got into trouble with the law and was sent to an Industrial School and from there to rehab where he met his wife with whom he has three children, two boys and a girl. Ciaran’s children are now in their late teens and early twenties. As Ciaran’s family grew so did his drinking problems. He believes now that his drinking was his effort to forget earlier childhood traumas. His marriage eventually broke down after 18 years and he left the family home. After leaving the family home Ciaran moved in to a flat. That did not last long however because at the time he was drinking heavily. He moved out of the flat and stayed with friends and in hostels. He found hostel life difficult. He was eventually referred to a 6 month alcohol treatment programme which worked well for him. When he finished the programme he was keen not to return to the hostels so with support from the treatment centre went to a half-way house for a time. One day in the company of his son however he fell off the wagon again. This particular drinking binge had serious consequences for him in that he could no longer return to the halfway house but it had even more serious consequences for his son who was ultimately convicted of a very serious crime, committed that evening. Ciaran really struggled following his son being sent to gaol. Round that time Ciaran got a flat, but living alone he started drinking heavily again. His family were supportive and visited every week bringing food with them, but the drinking got worse. He attempted suicide on a number of occasions. After his last attempt he was hospitalised for a while. Following his discharge from hospital he started drinking again and was eventually referred to a unit that provides a higher level of support than a regular hostel. He is happy with this because it has been decided that he will be here for up to three years and that gives him security, he is also clear that he needs to eat and that he does not cope well on his own. He likes where he lives but sometimes feels that he is treated as a child, when he is herded into activities that he does not want to do. Ciaran occasionally worries about dying and death but worries more about his family and particularly one of his sons. CON Con is in his fifties. When he was younger Con worked in hotels in Ireland, London and Brighton. He met his wife in England and they married in 1971. They had two daughters together; one is now in her early 20’s and the other in her thirties. The marriage broke up because of Con’s alcohol use and he left the family as a result of a court order. When Con left home he initially stayed in B&B’s but that was too expensive as a long term option. So he found his way to a hostel and stayed there for a while. He was eventually referred to Simon, who sorted him out with an apartment in the city centre. He was there for about 12 months. He liked the apartment and liked living independently but a decision was made by Simon to move him because they said he was drinking too much and not taking care of himself. Con was initially moved somewhere for a few days before being moved to his current shared accommodation. He likes where he is but does not want to be there, he does not think he needs it. He does not know how long he will be in his current location for and is not sure how he would adapt to another change. Con is physically well generally but mentally he says he lives in turmoil. He believes his catering background has kept him interested in eating and food and that in turn has been a help in terms of keeping him physically well. Con tends to live more on a day to day basis than he did in the past. He does not really think about dying for himself but he thinks about it for his mum. She is 84 and he adores her, Con and his mum meet every week, do her shopping and have a pint. He is not sure what he would do without her.
Homelessness, Ageing and Dying
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