'There will be more deaths on the streets of Cork': Charities fear for homeless people's lives

The leaders of two organisations working with homeless people speak out after two men die in the city centre

A vigil was held in Cork City last week for Leon Kavanagh, the second homeless man to die on the streets of Cork in a week, after 51-year-old Roman Burzynski. Picture courtesy of Kayleigh Lawless

Last Thursday, Leon Kavanagh, the second homeless man to die in Cork in under two weeks, was laid to rest.

He was found unconscious on Coburg St in the city centre on the previous Friday night, and was brought to the Mercy Hospital. Saturday was his 31st birthday. He died in the early hours of last Monday.

Originally from the northside of Cork city, he was known to those providing services to the homeless in the city and had been sleeping outside Debenham’s on St Patrick's Street recently.

Just 11 days earlier, another man, Roman Burzynski, 51, was pronounced dead after being discovered collapsed on Carey’s Lane, off St Patrick's Street.

Services for rough sleepers under pressure

In the wake of the double tragedy, Cork’s homeless charities have warned that while the numbers of people in emergency housing has fallen due in part to Covid-19 responses, their services for rough sleepers are under increased pressure.

Caitriona Twomey, the driving force behind Cork Penny Dinners, warned dangers are mounting for those accessing its services and that more deaths are inevitable.

'If we had people die on the street a few years ago, people would be shocked — but now it’s almost an everyday occurrence and people aren’t shocked any more,' said Caitriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners. Picture: Dan Linehan

“Some of the people we have now are so far gone, you can see it in their faces,” Ms Twomey, who attended Mr Kavanagh’s funeral, said. “There’s a few, and you know they’ll be the next to go. Their demise is very visible to us.

We are seeing more problems with addictions, or mental health issues. It’s much bigger now, there’s more of it. It’s all intensified and there are going to be more deaths on the street.

 

Ms Twomey said the spate of deaths amongst homeless people in recent years is connected to the housing crisis, but that addiction and mental health issues for Cork’s most vulnerable due to Covid-19 restrictions, are worsening.

“If we had people die on the street a few years ago, people would be shocked — but now it’s almost an everyday occurrence and people aren’t shocked any more,” she said.

“We need our government to put its people first. We’re talking about people who are hurting: people who are homeless, who are at risk of suicide, people that are rough sleeping, families in B&Bs.” 

 Ms Twomey is concerned that further fall-out from Covid-19 impacts may be on their way.

“It’s been a very tough year and we have a huge amount of people at risk of becoming homeless because they can’t pay their rent and can’t pay their mortgage,” she said. “It’s all very well to say they can’t be evicted, but it is going to happen when the moratorium is lifted.”

408 people in emergency accommodation

 The number of people in emergency accommodation in Cork has grown slowly since December, having fallen by 6% in the preceding 12 months.

408 adults were staying in emergency accommodation in Cork during the final week of February, according to the Government's most recent monthly homelessness report. This has increased from 402 in January, and 385 in December 2020.

There were 5,974 adults living in emergency accommodation nationally last month. Cork Simon Community director, Dermot Kavanagh, warned that this figure does not reflect the scale of the homelessness crisis because those sleeping rough, parents and children in refuges, and the hidden homeless are not counted.

'It’s shocking when you realise that homeless people are, on average, only 43 when they pass away,' said Dermot Kavanagh, the director of Cork Simon Community. Picture: Clare Keogh

50 homeless people died in Dublin in 2020, according to a report by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. A small number occurred on the streets, while others involved hospitalisation. 49 deaths had occurred in the capital in 2019.

'An awful tragedy'

The deaths of Leon Kavanagh and Roman Burzynski were “an awful tragedy,” Mr Kavanagh said. “It’s so upsetting to see lives cut short, and devastating for their families.” 

It’s shocking when you realise that homeless people are, on average, only 43 when they pass away, and that reflects the stigma and exclusion they experience. 

Cork Simon Community was provided with additional emergency accommodation by Cork City Council during the Covid-19 crisis to provide for rough sleepers, but Mr Kavanagh said their day services have been impacted throughout 2020 and into 2021.

“We can only have a restricted number in our day centre due to distancing requirements, and our nightly soup run, which used to be a very social event, is now reduced to a takeaway handed out soup at the gate,” he said.

“Covid-19 restrictions have had a devastating impact across society, and of course, those impacts are far more negative on those who are already vulnerable and who are on the margins of society.”