Outrage at photo of homeless girl, 4, eating a meal, sitting on a crate on the side of the road
Dublin, Ireland: A volunteer at the Ballymun Soup Run took a photo of a homeless child eating a plastic container meal as she sits on a crate.
The saddening image quickly made waves all across the web, and was originally shared with the caption:
“Our government is to blame for this.”
How shameful.
This photograph, from the Ballymun Soup Run shows one of the many children they have to feed every day.
A recent report from St. Vincent de Paul revealed 24% of people have been forced to cut-back on food, heating or electricity due to cost, during the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/aJCaSneVc0
— People Before Profit (@pb4p) April 12, 2021
Eventually, the photo was seen by Tony Walsh, the co-founder of Feed Our Homeless.
Tony also shared the image and said it was ‘shameful and totally unacceptable’ – before harshly criticizing the government over the housing crisis in the country.
“This Photo of a young child eating his dinner sitting on a crate on the streets of Dublin Shameful & totally unacceptable. No child should have to sit on the streets like this eating three dinners simply because they have no place to call home. Shame on our government,” he said.
HER ONLY hot meal of the day.
▪️Outrage over photo showing homeless girl, four, eating dinner from plastic container on side of street #HowIrelandWorks #not1home https://t.co/7AETUzrHAs pic.twitter.com/GK6y0pYSOn
— Mick Caul 😷 (@caulmick) April 18, 2021
It didn’t take long for many people on social media to give their own two cents on the critical issue.
One person wrote:
“This is heartbreaking. I’m 65 and will probably never vote any of the main political parties ever again. Why continue to make the same decisions but yet expect a different outcome. Lunacy.”
Another added:
“I cannot begin to express how angry this makes me feel. A little child, or anyone, homeless and eating on the street. It is not acceptable, it never was and it never will be.”
A third said:
“Truly heartbreaking image, the mental issues these children will suffer as a result of this up bringing will be devastating and be with them all their lives.There are so many things wrong with that image.”
A homeless 4 year old? No family? Emergency shelter? This is disgusting.
— StarMan (@StarMan92062292) April 18, 2021
According to statistics from the Department of Housing, there are currently 8,238 homeless people in the country.
The person who took the photo told Dublin Live that she had “no words”.
“Our Government should hang their heads in shame. A four-year-old baby and one of the only places they have to have a home-cooked meal is our team? These children should have a kitchen table to sit at and have dinner, not on the ground on a crate at our soup kitchen,” the volunteer said.
Heart breaking and disgusting. This should not be happening
— thestronggirl 🏴🏴☠️🐶🐶🐴 (@thesilentgirl6) April 18, 2021
Last year, a spokesperson for Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien said the Minister acknowledged that homelessness numbers were “simply too high”, as per The Irish Times.
“In particular, he recognizes the growing number of single adults in emergency accommodation and wants to see a greater emphasis on the delivering one-bedroom social homes . . . The program for government commits to expanding the Housing First approach with a focus on the construction and acquisition of one-bed homes and the provision of relevant supporting services.”
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