It wasn't difficult to locate Polish native Piotr Baram (36) and his best friend, Czech national Josef Pavelka (52). One wet Wednesday evening in April, I knocked on the door of a public toilet in the market area of Ennis and Piotr answered. Inside, his clothing was laid out and his makeshift bed was made.
He carefully wrapped up his belongings in a refuse sack, to prevent them getting wet when the toilet self-cleaned, and brought me to meet his friend Josef, who was sleeping in a toilet in the Abbey Street car park.
Both men had come to Ireland six years ago to chase what was left of the Celtic Tiger, leaving friends and family behind. Chronic alcoholism, coupled with the downturn, left them homeless. Now, just one of them is left – an Adam without Paul.
Questions arise as to whether enough was done to ensure their specific needs were met. There is little doubt that both men posed complex and challenging cases for support agencies, such as the Society of St Vincent de Paul, which provided them with accommodation for over two years. There was some suggestion that their ineligibility for social welfare made it more difficult to access appropriate treatments and services.
On a purely financial level, this makes little sense, as the State picks up the tab regardless through policing, judicial and medical resources that both men used up.
More than that, though, as a country which prides itself on the work our aid agencies do overseas in some of most impoverished areas of the world, since when did we make having the appropriate paperwork a precondition of giving persons a basic level of human dignity in our own country?
Undoubtedly, Josef’s lack of English would have made it difficult for him to receive or engage in a residential alcohol treatment programme in Ireland, some of which can cost upwards of €16,000. After their living situation was highlighted in the media, it was decided that temporary accommodation should be given to both and they were moved to a hostel in Galway – away from what limited support network they had.
Questions arise as to whether this was the best location for both men to be sent to. Professionals working with homeless agencies will often talk about “harm-reduction” models in relation to persons with chronic addiction issues.
Too often, the simplistic response to homelessness is that providing someone with a roof over their head is the primary cure for their ills. What made someone homeless, though, is seldom solved through the provision of a home.
On their return to Ennis last week, after Piotr and Josef decided to leave Galway, the men had attained what one judge called “celebrity status.”
Well-meaning but ultimately misguided individuals gave them alcohol and money.
Piotr told me he got off the bus from Galway with no money and walked the short distance into Ennis. By the time he arrived, he had been given €25 without asking. Persons in cars stopped to hand them alcohol.
Local priest Fr Tom Hogan, who has done a huge amount to help the men, noted that in Josef's case, "people's kindness was also his vulnerability".
