Patrick Mc Kenna

Housing - Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

2010-03-25T03:37:00.000-07:00

Housing - Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

Grand Canal Theatre

2010-03-20T02:43:00.000-07:00

Grand Canal Theatre

Information for Tenants, County Meath, Ireland - Councils, Community, Business and Investment, Tourism

2010-03-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Information for Tenants, County Meath, Ireland - Councils, Community, Business and Investment, Tourism

Renting Local Authority Housing, County Meath, Ireland - Councils, Community, Business and Investment, Tourism

2010-03-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

Renting Local Authority Housing, County Meath, Ireland - Councils, Community, Business and Investment, Tourism

Meath Co Council Annual report 2008, see section 8.1

2010-03-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

File,40488,en.pdf (application/pdf Object)

The Way Home

2010-03-04T06:44:00.001-08:00

Patrick Mc Kenna: FileDownLoad,18192,en.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Rental Accommodation Scheme ( RAS ), County Meath, Ireland ...

2010-03-04T04:57:00.000-08:00

Rental Accommodation Scheme ( RAS ), County Meath, Ireland ...

Information for Tenants, County Meath, Ireland - Councils, Community, Business and Investment, Tourism

2010-03-04T04:32:00.000-08:00

Information for Tenants, County Meath, Ireland - Councils, Community, Business and Investment, Tourism

Rental Accomodation Scheme - Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

2010-03-04T04:30:00.000-08:00

Rental Accomodation Scheme - Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

Gmail - [David McWilliams] Money-sucking Anglo is our financial Stalingrad - paddymacc@gmail.com

2010-03-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

Gmail - [David McWilliams] Money-sucking Anglo is our financial Stalingrad - paddymacc@gmail.com

Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our own decisions? | Video on TED.com

2010-01-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our own decisions? Video on TED.com

I can't forget, but I don't remember what.

2009-08-19T12:26:00.000-07:00

CHRISTMAS IN A BAG

2009-08-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

CHPHP: Children Helping Poor and Homeless People
open link here
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/21002/

What a great idea, wouldn't it be lovely, at Christmas time to have a drop off point where families could leave Christmas in a bag for our poor and homeless citizens.

Now that would be the real meaning of Christmas

Why do people become homeless ? Chapter 2

2009-08-14T12:13:00.001-07:00

The Bitter Pill

It is my intention this chapter to describe the physical attributes that best define , the term ' poverty of spirit ' and discuss how certain factors may combine to subconsciously facilitate the onset of this phenomenon, and how it may manifest itself.

First of all it is important to know, that 99% of all homeless people are not there by choice, they all have in the past, at some point lived a regular life just like you and me, you know I almost said normal there, but I'm not sure what normal is, so I chose regular instead.
Most have had jobs in the past at some time, and a lot have been married or had a partner, and children.
We have all had, or will have difficulties in our lives and we assume that we will weather whatever comes along, and in most cases that's what happens, we deal with it or not, but we give the impression that we are coping, because we don't want to appear weak, because that would be in conflict with branded self that we have created for ourselves.
I have known people who have gone through life without ever acknowledging, the possibility that a problem may be of their making, or without ever considering changing the opinion's they held thirty years ago. To me these people have never really lived at all, because in order to recognise and espouse anything, you must first of all be conscious of the inevitability of the opposite. To be more precise, if you never put on the light, then you only know darkness.

I'm sure most of us have at sometime in our life argued with somebody, and as the argument progresses, we can sometimes say things which we really didn't mean, but we can never take it back, because once something is said out loud, it can never be unsaid, and no apology removes the hurt, and so this is countered with further disagreements, and since hurt knows no boundaries, bitterness is stored up and re - presents itself at every opportunity, but you never get even, because the fire is fueled now, so on and on it goes.

Well the same formula can apply to material events, post hoc ergo propter hoc , . Therefor afterwards because of it, meaning one thing is followed by the other , therefore it is the cause of it, and while it is not always true, sometimes it is, and a succession of events may be triggered by the preceding event and sometimes it's not possible to arrest the continuum, and now you have no control over anything, and that is a very precarious situation to be in, because you are now in free fall, and scared.
One thing to remember is, that all the time the domino's are falling around you, a concurrent sensation of enormous tension is welling up inside you, and absolute confusion and chaos reigns within you, coupled with embarrassment, and disbelief, at your inability to rescue yourself from pending disaster.

I will try to simplify the last two paragraphs and liken it to the following scenario.

Imagine if you woke up one morning and couldn't remember who you were, or anything about your past life, you did'nt recognise anyone or anything, you are in a strange place and have no idea of how you got there, all you know is that you are alone, with no friends or family or colleagues, and it's like being in a maize, you have no idea which way is out, so you drift endlessly, and as evening approaches, you are hungry and tired, and panic is now starting to set in because you are aware that this is not a nightmare, it's for real, and you really need something to numb the panic. You think if I only had a drink, I will be able to relax and calm down, and sort it all out, yeah if I only had a drink everything will be fine, and so one way or another you will get the money to buy alcohol, just for tonight, and tomorrow will be fine. It will all be clear tomorrow.

Well my friends , that's what it's like, tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, but tomorrow is no different, hanging around all day, walking the streets all night, that's why you see so many sleeping in doorways, on your way to work, it's not laziness, it's fear, yes fear, you see a lot of unhomed people walk the streets all night, because they are afraid of being attacked, or worse, and so they don't try to sleep until after the late night clubbers are gone off the streets.
During the day, a lot of them hide away, or go to places where they are unlikely to be seen by any of their former mates, or family, because they are embarrassed at their appearance, as I'm sure you can imagine, places where they can shower and wash their clothes, and use toilets, are extremely limited.

YouTube - James Taylor - Shed a little Light

2009-07-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p18qu4Te9j4

Why do people become homeless ?.

2009-07-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

If you click on the MakeRoom badge in the side bar, it will explain a little, about the people whose lives are affected by the scourge of homelessness in Ireland.

One of the questions I get asked quiet frequently is, why or how do people end up being homeless ? is it because of drugs, drink, violence, or are they just pure lazy.

The answer to this question is not easy to explain but their is one certainty, which I shall try to explain, and which you should give some thought to.

Firstly, I have never met anyone in my life who grew up wanting to be homeless, and something in their life, triggered an action, which in turn set off an equal and sometimes opposite reaction.

This phenomenon, can happen over and over again, resulting in confusion, and sometimes meltdown, in which you are not in charge any more, so you may take something to numb the hurt.

Do you know what the worst part of being homeless is ?. It's waking up in the morning, and realising, that it's not a bloody nightmare, and the demolition in the brain starts all over again.

So what is homelessness ?

When you first mention the word homelessness, the first thing that springs to most people's, mind is a mental image of human beings sleeping in doorways, or sitting in a busy street, with a paper cup in hand, and mostly without speaking, seek some form of assistance, and to be sure, for the most part, that is the definitive public face, behind the word.

Describing the phenomenon is difficult, simply because it is not a binary state.

You are all aware of the old adage, that 'you never know what's going on inside someone else's house ', and well guess what?, it's true.
There is a great chance that each and everyone of us actually knows someone who is homeless, the thing is, that we don't know, that we do.
The condition is manifest, in it's secrecy, and personally, I have known people who felt homeless while living with their own family, and you are probably wondering how is this possible.

A place to stay and sleep, is not necessarily a home

A home should be a place in which you feel safe, protected, comfortable and welcome, even if you live alone it is possible to feel all these things and more. In fact to be comfortable in solitude, is one of life's greatest treasures.
Alternatively, you could live in splendour, with family members, and feel ostracised, unable to communicate at at a level that suit's your particular personality, so you question yourself, and wonder why you don't seem to fit in, and be like all the others.
Sometimes the other family members, whether it's your parents, siblings, or partner or spouse seem to resent the fact that you are different, and this resentment may manifest itself in ways which you are not comfortable with, nor with which you ever should be, e.g. bullying, intimidation, physical, or psychological abuse. This can and usually does lead to self doubt, so instead of developing as the person you really are, you adapt, to the perception, of what you think other people would like you to be.
What you don't know, is that other members of your family unit may be doing the same thing, and for the same reason.
This is just one example of how someone can live in what would normally be described by others as a normal family unit, but it is not a home.

What does it mean, to be different ?

This is a difficult one, because it doesn't mean better, or worse, it just simply means different !
I have used a phrase in the previous section "the person you really are", I have of course borrowed that from the Carl Rogers book ' Becoming the person you really are', a book I studied when I took a counselling course, some years ago. The reason I remember that book so well is because, at the beginning of the course, there were 22 of us, male and female, and at the end of two years, our number had dwindled to 5.
I mention this because during that course we were requested say out loud, 5 things we liked about ourselves. That's not too difficult,! is it ?. Do you think, you could sit at dinner to-night at home with your family, and say out loud, the following; " I really like myself, and here are 5 reasons why I like myself. It's not as easy as you might think.
Most people can give you any number of reasons what they don't like about themselves, that's much easier.
Now for those of you who are brave enough, to be able to do what I just asked, and yes some people can recite things about themselves, at the opera levels, but I guarantee your next action will be one of complete silence, and rolling of the eye's, waiting on a reaction, which will either reinforce your confidence, or destroy it altogether.
There is always a fear of being judged, especially by our peers, and fear is something we all endure at some stage in our lives. Fear is such a common emotion, whether we are aware of it or not. but how do we deal with it.? What are our greatest fears ?
Nelson Mandela, in his inaugural address, spoke about the fear of being true to ourselves, and included the following passage in his speech

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves ? ` Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous ?' Actually who are you not to be ? You are a child of God. We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

Forgive me, I've just realised, that due to technical problems, with my service provider last night, 13th July 09, at least 4 pages have been deleted, even though they were saved in draft form, so I'm now going to sulk for a while, and will return, when I've re formed my thoughts.
So please bear with me, and check in again. Thank You...... paddy.

Hi, I'm back, it's Saturday afternoon 19th July 2009

It's sometimes difficult to get your train of thought back, especially after loosing so much material, due to a technical glitch, but here we go.
I think if we are truly honest with ourselves, we can all safely agree, that the fear of being judged would take a prominent place in our Psyche, and to avoid this awkward situation, mostly without noticing it we tend to build up a more secure public persona, in other words we sell ourselves as a brand, we begin to act and dress, and speak in a manner which in our minds, will make other people like us better. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying it's what we have been conditioned to do.
For some people it takes on a whole new layer, and that's when we start to believe and act as if the branded package is real, and without noticing we build up so many layers of deceit, that we allow ourselves to concentrate on the packaging, thinking that if people like the package, then it really doesn't matter, how the product is made.
It's funny, just as I'm writing this, I'm also just by chance listening to the "Eagles " singing ' Too Busy Being Fabulous ' what a coincidence. ? One of my habits, is listening to a wall of music when I'm writing.!

Frankly, I never cease to be amazed, at the actual level of deceit that can take place between the public self and the real self. It's like self hypnosis, we replace what is real with what we would like real to be, and continue to live that life, because by now that's who we are, to our family and friends.

Conflict, both within and without.

Loneliness, as I'm sure you know can be a catalyst for many malfunctions, in both the body and the mind's natural way of performing their respective tasks, and in order to ignore the fear of loneliness, we can, and usually do, fortify the brand to which we have become addicted.
I use the word addicted, because by this time, you have forgotten to remember the flip side, and by now you're wondering what the flip side is.?

Allow me if you will, to describe a scene in which you are the main player, ( probably the only player)
Imagine being imprisoned in a tower, and it's dark, and at the top is a narrow window that's just big enough to allow some light, and air in. So you climb the steps, up to this window, and look out, and the sun is shining, the grass is green, the sky is clear, or at least what you can see of it, because the opening is so narrow, that you only see straight out, and every day you do this, but you only see the very same sight every day, you can't broaden your view, you can't see a vista of any kind, just the same sight every day, every week, every month, every year, the same view, and it can't change. You become so used to it that you don't bother looking out any more, what's the point, you're just going to see the same thing. You know there 's something else, but are powerless to do anything about it.
A conflict starts to emerge, and you have choices. Certainly the tower is very safe, and nothing changes, no decisions to make, no fear of anyone challenging you or putting problems in your way, and you are not uncomfortable.
But, apart from looking out your little window, you have no idea, what it's like to be outside. then one day a crack appears in the wall of the tower, ever so slight but just enough so that if you squint through, you can see a stream or brook, and you can hear children playing, and a dog barking, now you wonder what else is out there, because you've just remembered that something sounds familiar, but it's so long ago, you only have a vague recollection of their sounds.
Now you're curious, and at the same time scared, you feel comfort in your own little, place, and there is no reason to rock the boat, but those sounds keep you interested in what might be out there, and as time goes on, you become more curious, you try to imagine the entire vista outside, but it's impossible, because you are locked in and soon you become angry, and frustrated, because you now want out but there is no way, so eventually you give up trying, and by now you've lost interest, because you know it's all in your mind, and you are a prisoner of your own mind.
Each passing day, you become more disenchanted, frustrated, selfish, because it's someone else's fault that you are in this prison, and by now you are very angry at everyone, even people you don't know, and the trouble with this story is, there is no end, there simply is no way back, there is no way forward, there is only now.

Dress Rehearsal Rag

The reason for the above short story, although badly written, was to enable me to articulate the last paragraph, and the title I use to start this post is of course the title of one of Leonard Cohen's greatest works.
If you're familiar with this song, then I don't need to explain, where I'm coming from, and if you're not, then you should acquaint yourself with this masterpiece, it could only be written by someone who had a brief encounter with Sheol, or who was close to someone who did, and any comment I could make on this song would be an injustice, to his genius.

So to return to the original question ' why do people become homeless, the answer lies only in our inability to comprehend, the condition that has publicly manifested itself in the state of being, to which we give the name homelessness.

I feel compelled at this point, to tell you that the average life expectancy, of someone who is homeless, and sleeping rough, is 42 years of age, and that angers me, especially when I think of the technological advances that have been instigated in ' for profit ' ventures.
Don't misunderstand me, I admire people who manage a business, and use their talent, and expertise to research and develop new ideas, from which we all benefit, and in order for this to happen the business must be profitable. My anger is not aimed at business professionals, it is aimed at Dickensian attitudes, which have for far too long, permeated throughout our social services, and public authorities, who manage, or more accurately, don't manage, one of the worst atrocities of our time.

Shed a little light.

People don't become homeless, they just are, it's a state of being that exists in our society.
When you say the word ' become ' it suggests that the person probably had some control over the situation that led to their current state, and that assumption is a kind of introverted interpretation of John Rawl's ' Veil of Secrecy ' in order to protect ourselves from our own vulnerability, what you are seeing is basically someone who is living without the privilege, of the branded package, that I spoke about earlier, so in a way we are inwardly seeing ourselves under different circumstances, and quite rightly we are frightened by our own dependency on others to protect us from reality, not unlike the person in the tower.

There is nothing I can write that will enlighten you about the state of being homeless, but what I can do is tell you that until you challenge yourself to sit down on the step, with a homeless person, and exchange names, and shake their hand, and ask ' What kind of night had you last night ? ' and watch the people go by, some will glance, some may donate some change, some may even nod and acknowledge your existence, without a spoken word or even a smile, so you sit there, and even though your friend, has had a night from hell, and feeling the worst for wear, he will engage fully to the best of his ability, probably light up a smoke, and maybe smile, because at that moment you are a guest in his home, even though you are sitting on a doorstep, in the open, and it's probably cold or raining, but your company even for five or ten minutes, not judging, or questioning, or giving advice, but just sharing the moment. No need to try to hide the shake in his hand, no need to say sorry for anything, just shooting the breeze, without fear, and sometimes forgetting even for a moment his cares and worries.
When you decide to leave, put out your hand again, and when your friend extends his hand, clasp it with both hands and look him in the eye, and say (name) Take care of yourself, and thanks for the company, and you will almost always get a smile, and the words God Bless ya' Paddy and thanks. That my friends is the most humbling experience you will ever encounter in this life.