Gareth O'Callaghan: You don't have to be living rough to feel the pain of homelessness

For someone like Jim, it’s not the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time he dreads most. His wife is dead, his son is homeless, and he lives alone in an empty house that was once a family home.

Days mean nothing on the timeline of homelessness.  Picture: Leon Farrell/RollingNews

A light snow begins to fall. Doubt if there’ll be any thaw today, he thinks to himself. He cups his hands and blows into them, but even his breath feels cold.

The ground is too wet to sit on, dusted with frost, so he hunkers down against the wall just next to the main door of the library. From there he can see the entrance to the small coffee shop.