VIDEO: Cork's High Hopes choir is helping with the self-esteem and confidence of those impacted by homelessness

This year there is a High Hopes choir in Cork too and it’s done wonders for the self-esteem and confidence of its participants, all of whom have been homeless, writes Olivia Kelleher

LIFE can often involve wearing a mask. We strive so much to keep the façade up of who we are supposed to be that we often lose track of who we are. We hide weakness, insecurity and pain and put on a performance. Like ‘Eleanor Rigby’ in The Beatles song we wear a face that we keep in a jar by the door.

Members of the Cork High Hopes choir, who have all been impacted by homelessness, are not inclined to don masks. Walking in to the rehearsal room next to the Holy Trinity Church on a dreary night in December I was immediately met by the raw honesty and sincerity that comes with having lived lives touched by pain.