Cork Penny Dinners feeding 1,000 people daily as cost of living crisis deepens
Caitríona Twomey with transition year students from Coláiste Éamann Rís and Coláiste an Chroí Naofa, Carraig na bhFear, who do volunteer work at Cork Penny Dinners. Picture: Denis Minihane.
A lengthy queue moves quickly past the door at Cork Penny Dinners, people of all ages and backgrounds taking a hot meal, ‘survival bags’ and extra pouches stuffed with tea bags from smiling volunteers.
The need has spiked to such a degree that that line now snakes right down to the end of Little Hanover Street and sometimes turns the corner, Caitríona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners said.
“The queues are sometimes right down the street now, I never saw that before,” she said.
“There’s been a 35% increase in demand since last year.
“We’re feeding more than 1,000 people each day.
“People are really struggling with the cost of living crisis.”
One man who can't find a home has been living in two wheelie bins in Cork city for three years now, Ms Twomey said.
“He puts the two wheelie bins on the ground, lays out his yoga mats and sleeping bags and sleeps in them.
“He said it’s not ideal but at least it’s a roof over his head. And it doesn’t leak like a lot of tents do.
“People can’t get accommodation. I believe we have a crisis.”
Official statistics reflect that evidence of a homeless crisis felt on the ground.
Escalating figures show more than 13,000 homeless in late October, including almost 4,000 children.
October’s figure of 3,991 is the highest number of children living in emergency accommodation since current records began almost 10 years ago.
The latest figures from the Department of Housing show that people registered as homeless increased by 352 between September and October.
By the end of October, 9,188 adults were homeless. Some 5,683 (62%) were men and 3,505 (38%) were women.
Of the 1,939 families in emergency accommodation, 1,107 were one-parent families.
Dublin had the highest concentration of homeless people followed by Cork and Galway.
Cork City Council had 4,400 people on its housing list at the time of writing.
It had 394 people in emergency accommodation in Cork City with some 82 people in longer-term homeless accommodation in Cork city.
The cost of living crisis is now driving some to suicide, Ms Twomey said.
“There have been so many deaths in the city recently. And more will happen unless things change,” she said.
A lack of adequate and affordable mental health supports is another major problem, Ms Twomey said.
“They are the dual causes of this suicide crisis.
“And these people’s lives are worth saving.
“We’ve lost a lot of people here. We’ve lost four people from the High Hopes Choir [Ireland’s first homeless choir].
“And the sad thing is, no one knows whose door death is going to knock on next.
“Services closed over covid and many people never recovered."
But Ms Twomey and a flurry of volunteers are working to make sure that those who are suffering this Christmas have somewhere to turn for support.
They are producing 1,500 hot meals and survival bags — filled with drinks and snacks to tide someone over until the morning - per day.
Inside the centre resembles a busy Santa’s Grotto, with boxes full of food and gifts piled high overhead and teams of volunteers cooking three-course dinners and packing ‘survival packs’.
“We have beef, chicken casserole, vegetables, pasta, vegan and vegetarian options.
“The food is good. We try to spoil people who have no one else to spoil them.”
People of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds have been keen to help those who have fallen on hard times.
Children from special schools volunteer three days a week, providing both great help and great fun in Penny Dinners, Ms Twomey said.
And transition year students from some mainstream schools participate for 12 weeks during Transition Year.
“I’m thinking of staying on as a volunteer after our 12 weeks is finished,” transition Year student Jennymay said while packing sandwiches.
“It’s good to take time to think of others, especially at Christmas, and especially now when things are so expensive.
“It feels good to help people,” fellow student Alicja said.
Volunteers from all over the world now help at Penny Dinners.
“We have people from Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Ghana, Botswana, Germany, Romania, Honduras, Mexico, Columbia, Bolivia, Morrocco,” Ms Twomey said.
“And every day we have different schools in. People plough away [with their work] but they chat away too.”
Timothy from Ghana, an asylum seeker, heard about the centre through the direct provision centre he has stayed in in Cork for almost one year.
“It keeps you busy and I’m proud to be doing it,” he said.
“I ran for my life from Ghana. They wanted to kill me there. There were inheritance issues and I’m gay, which was not accepted there.
Maynor Ribera from Honduras is studying English in Cork and working in a popular restaurant. But whenever he has a few hours free, he volunteers at Penny Dinners.
“I like working in the kitchen, it’s more busy, more moving.
“It’s good to help but it’s also good to learn English. You hear lots of different, strong accents here.”
Aouad Brahim, originally from Morocco but now resident in Ireland, also comes to volunteer on his days off.
He started helping at Penny Dinners in July 2017.
“Over lockdown I was laid off so I came here every day. You get great experience in the kitchen, you’re meeting people, cleaning.
“Now I come every Sunday, that’s my day off work.”
And while the kitchen and survival bag assembly teams are busy in the centre, a fleet of vans are out on deliveries of food and Christmas hampers.
Vincent Murray joined driver Derry Falvey in one of Penny Dinners three vans for a delivery.
“We do deliveries every day, five days a week,” Mr Falvey said.
“A lot of people out there are struggling. You wouldn’t realise it until you knock on the door.
“I’ve been volunteering here for four years and it gets worse every year. You’re seeing real destitution. With the cost of living, everything is going up. And you see all ages, all backgrounds. People would be hungry without the service.
“Some people would be crying,” Mr Murray said.
“The light shines in their faces when they get it.
“You should see the kids faces when they get toys.
“And Penny Dinners is all volunteers. Other charities have paid CEOs, paid treasurers. But it’s all volunteers here so all the money goes to the people who need it.
“Caitríona does incredible work. I’ve seen her get a lot of people off the streets.”
The van’s first stop was at a City Council resource centre in the north side of the city for older people and those who are vulnerable.
Local man John O’Brien said that the Penny Dinners delivery gets people together in the community.
“And that’s really important, people can get isolated, especially after covid,” he said.
Next stop was to the Army Veteran Association where defence force veterans were meeting near their old barracks, encouraging crucial social interaction and connection to older men who had served their country, along with delivering delicious-looking cakes and freshly made sandwiches.
Tom O’Connell was standing outside his home on the north side of Cork city waiting for the delivery.
His wife is very ill and cannot leave her bed.
“The delivery is very handy. Ita is confined to bed so someone bringing food is a big help,” he said.
Delivery drivers alert Ms Twomey if they see anyone in particularly disturbing destitution on their rounds.
“One man we called to recently had no lights in his house. It was not in a good way.
“So Caitríona will tell us to bring him extra supports, bring toiletries, check in on him.”
Back at Little Hanover Street, missing person posters stick to the windows of the main Cork Penny Dinners kitchen, where the charity has been based for some 100 years, a subsequent premises after it was founded in 1888.
A large photo of smiling volunteers, pictured there in 1933 by the , perches high on the wall over the hall.
In front of it stands a Christmas tree, hung with baubles carrying the names and photos of people killed on the roads.
Sarah’s Gift of Hope tree was named after Sarah Richardson, who was killed, aged 19, in a two-car collision on Fota Road on April 27, 2012.
Her mother Colette Griffin set up the Tree of Hope at Penny Dinners every Christmas in memory of Sarah, collecting gifts for those who need them most.
“The families come and we sing silent night at Christmas. It’s very emotional,” Ms Twomey said.
“It’s important to remember people at this time of year.”
Ms Twomey is still campaigning for a rape crisis centre and accommodation for people who are homeless and are often repeatedly raped on the streets.
“People are raped and brutalised on the street, they go to hospital and come straight back out on the street, out around their abuser again, and they can be raped again that night,” Ms Twomey said.
She has come across women being raped on the streets of Cork as early as 9pm.
Meanwhile, demand for Penny Dinners’ main services is growing all the time.
The cost of living crisis is fuelling poverty, with people very stretched, Ms Twomey said.
“The bills coming in do not match people’s wages, so they’re constantly trying to juggle bills and keep getting more in debt. It becomes a vicious circle.
“The price of everything has gone up — produce is expensive, energy is expensive, fuel for a car is expensive.”
Loan sharks become increasingly tempting at this time of year, launching people into further debt.
“People have to choose between having a Christmas or paying the bills. And what mother or father wants to deny their child a Christmas?”
But the annual Penny Dinner Christmas dinner, with its food cooked by the nearby luxury River Lee Hotel, the annual party’s renowned guest musicians and volunteers will not let people down this Christmas.
On December 25, it will be held for a second year in the shiny new Croí na Laoí facility on nearby James’ Street.
“Christmas can be the loneliest day of the year for some people,” Ms Twomey said.
“But at Christmas here, we not only feed people but we lift people’s spirits.
“No one leaves us down on Christmas.”
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