YSI (Young Social Inovators)
YSI is Ireland's largest social awareness and active citizenship and education programme for teens from the ages of 15 to 18. A small group of us were chosen from our year to take part in YSI this year. This year we chose homelessness as our cause. We chose this because homelessness is not acknowledged as much as we would hope, especially by the government. there have been many calls and emails from different homelessness charities, and also some of the general public, to the Taoiseach about facing homelessness head-on and not to just ignore it and push it to the side. I often see rough sleepers, especially in Dublin, and almost all of the passing public try to steer clear of them, pretend they don't exist, glare at them, basically treat them as if they aren't human beings too. Which is so horrible because anyone can be one pay check away from becoming homeless.
Throughout the year our YSI group have had talks from St. Vincent De Paul, Focus Ireland, Peter McVerry Trust and Tiglin Outreach. On Thursday the 21st of December, our YSI group took to Stephen's Green Shopping Center and did carol singing for a few hours to raise money for Peter McVerry Trust and raised around 1200 euro, even though our singing wasn't the best.... We also held a bake sale, at our school's yearly bazaar, for Tiglin Outreach. They were both really good fun.
Throughout the year our YSI group have had talks from St. Vincent De Paul, Focus Ireland, Peter McVerry Trust and Tiglin Outreach. On Thursday the 21st of December, our YSI group took to Stephen's Green Shopping Center and did carol singing for a few hours to raise money for Peter McVerry Trust and raised around 1200 euro, even though our singing wasn't the best.... We also held a bake sale, at our school's yearly bazaar, for Tiglin Outreach. They were both really good fun.
Our main charity for YSI was Tiglin Outreach. I brought this charity to Ms. Buckley and Ms. Ni Fheinneadha because it is an amazing charity and they get out there and give homeless people hope each and everyday. I knew a woman named Hayley, who was part of Tiglin and asked her to come in to our school to show us what Tiglin was all about. Hayley also brought two previously homeless men with her, named John and Chris. Everyone in the room was expecting a load of facts about Tiglin but that is only a fraction of what we actually got. Hayley started us off with what Tiglin do and how they help so many homeless people, like they did John and Chris. Tiglin have a bus with a cafe on the inside, which they call 'No Bucks Cafe'. They also hand out Dignity Bags from this cafe.
Dignity Bags are rucksacks filled with everyday items such as, toothbrush, toothpaste, face wipes, shampoo, conditioner, water, soap, deodorant, tissues, hats, gloves, socks, toilet roll, plasters, sweet treats, lip balm and sanitary towels. There are separate ones for men and women. They are called Dignity Bags because instead of a homeless person having to ask for something as simple as toilet roll, it is handed to them in a Dignity Bag, therefore preserving their dignity.
After Hayley explained this to us, John told us his story of how he used to be homeless and a drug addict and how it got so bad for him that he attempted to take his own life. Although, with the help of Tiglin, he managed to turn his life around and get back on his feet. He is a lovely man and so kind hearted. To think people passed him everyday thinking bad things about him is just terrible of our society because he is such a lovely person. It just shows us to never judge a book by its cover. We were all so moved by his story that, when it was over, half of the room were crying, including Ms. Buckley and Ms. Ni Fheinneadha! It was definitely a talk to remember.
We continued working with Tiglin and also got the whole school involved. On the 19th of December, we came out with more than 70 Dignity Bags for the homeless! We olaced all of them inside the 'No Bucks Cafe' and Chris, John and Hayley thanked us immensely.
I am continuing to work with Tiglin and go with them in the 'No Bucks Cafe' to town any Thursday I can!
Dignity Bags are rucksacks filled with everyday items such as, toothbrush, toothpaste, face wipes, shampoo, conditioner, water, soap, deodorant, tissues, hats, gloves, socks, toilet roll, plasters, sweet treats, lip balm and sanitary towels. There are separate ones for men and women. They are called Dignity Bags because instead of a homeless person having to ask for something as simple as toilet roll, it is handed to them in a Dignity Bag, therefore preserving their dignity.
After Hayley explained this to us, John told us his story of how he used to be homeless and a drug addict and how it got so bad for him that he attempted to take his own life. Although, with the help of Tiglin, he managed to turn his life around and get back on his feet. He is a lovely man and so kind hearted. To think people passed him everyday thinking bad things about him is just terrible of our society because he is such a lovely person. It just shows us to never judge a book by its cover. We were all so moved by his story that, when it was over, half of the room were crying, including Ms. Buckley and Ms. Ni Fheinneadha! It was definitely a talk to remember.
We continued working with Tiglin and also got the whole school involved. On the 19th of December, we came out with more than 70 Dignity Bags for the homeless! We olaced all of them inside the 'No Bucks Cafe' and Chris, John and Hayley thanked us immensely.
I am continuing to work with Tiglin and go with them in the 'No Bucks Cafe' to town any Thursday I can!