40 Simon Communities of Ireland PETER Peter left school early to support his mother and younger siblings. His father was an alcoholic and not a good provider for the family. Peter was married when he was 25 for a couple of years and has a daughter and now grandchildren. He has no contact with his daughter or grandchildren. After his marriage broke up Peter moved to England to work on the building sites. He was only there a few months when he started hearing voices. He returned to Ireland where he was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with schizophrenia. Thereafter he attended hospitals on a weekly basis for treatment and medication. As Peter’s condition stabilised with medication so did his housing situation. He began to attend various courses which he loved, although they did not lead to full time work. When his father became unwell he moved back home to help his mother. Some little time after the death of his father, his mother found a new partner, and Peter moved out of the house and back to the hostels. Moving back to the hotels saw Peters drinking increase significantly. Peter believes he would not have survived this life for too long but for the fact that he met an old girlfriend and her son. They were moving out of the city for work and a better life and he decided to join them. Peter and Jane lived together for years working in various jobs. They split two years ago but have remained friends. They live near one another and Peter visits weekly generally for Sunday diner. Peter now lives alone in a small Council house which he loves at the edge of a market town. He recently acquired a dog and says that has been good for getting him out and about more. Peter doesn’t have many visitors, but says his dog is both company and a good watch dog. Money management has always been an issue for Peter so his system is to collect his money and pay off things as quickly as possible. Peter says apart from money he does not worry about much. He does not believe that death is the end, nor does he believe that he will be born again; he thinks it is more about recycling and he is happy about that. He says because he believes there is an afterlife he does not worry so much about dying and death. 3.4.3 Staff The interviewees were generally very complementary about Simon staff and volunteers and indeed the staff in other groups and organisations they had contact with, particularly their GP’s and public health nurses. Simon Project workers were identified as an important source of information and support in terms of helping and supporting individuals to manage their health and access the health system when required. The interviewees regretted that there was little time to chat particularly about times past but recognised that the staff and volunteers were busy. A few of the interviewees also commented that the volunteers ‘who tended to be young’ were not very comfortable if and when the interviewee brought up the conversation of mortality and thoughts of their death. Interestingly a number of the Simon services around the country were in the process of developing a visiting programme (with volunteers) for individuals accessing supports from Simon. At the time of the research a number of the interviewees had had visits from volunteers and were looking forward to the next visit. The members of the Simon Involvement and Action Group suggested that people who had previously accessed Simon services could provide a useful source of volunteers in the context, particularly give their experiences.
Homelessness, Ageing and Dying
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