32 Simon Communities of Ireland CIARA Ciara got married to a local man when she was 22. They had three children together, two daughters and a son (they are all now in their twenties). Her only contact with her children currently is writing. Ciara started drinking when she was about 14 or 15 and her drinking has got worse as she got older. Her marriage broke up in her thirties because of her drinking and her ex- husband subsequently reared their children and re-married. When Ciara left the family home she moved out of the city to a small village for a while where she spent a lot of time in the local day centre and the pub. Ciara has lived in a variety of different flats and houses but was unable to sustain the tenancies when she was drinking. Ciara was eventually offered a place in a house where she was for about a year. She liked it because it was in the middle of town with plenty going on around her. She got an offer to move her current accommodation a few months ago and is still settling in. She says the staff and the place are very nice but it is in a part of the city that she does not know. She does not think she would want to go back to her previous accommodation as it was a lot noisier with a lot more younger people, she likes the quiet of the new place but would like to get out more. Ciara is very unsteady on her feet and needs the support of a walking frame to get about. Her limited mobility means that she has to use the bus to go into town and now needs someone to accompany her when she is out and about. Staff shortages to date have meant that no one has yet been able to go with her. She is hoping this will change soon. Ciara continues to drink and is sometimes confused. She says she has lost whole stretches of time because of her alcohol consumption. Because she is unable to get out unaided Ciara finds time heavy on her hands and says she is often bored. Ciara says she did not expect her life to turn out like this. She has a great fear of death and where she will go when she dies. Her wish (like many others) would be to go to sleep and just not wake up. 3.2.4 Complex Needs The vast majority of the interviewees can be described as having ‘complex needs’ in that they have multiple and interconnecting needs that span physical and mental health and social issues. Some have mental health needs combined with problem alcohol use. Several interviewees also made reference to traumatic incidents in their past (which included domestic violence as well as incidents of physical and sexual abuse) but did not talk about them in any detail. Many interviewees (even those living in hostels and particularly those living in rural areas) were quite isolated, with limited opportunities for meaningful activities. Travel and access to transport was a particular issue for a number of interviewees. For some it was access to/the absence of public transport that was the issue, for others with limited mobility it was that they were not able to get out and about without the support of another person.
Homelessness, Ageing and Dying
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