Eoin

Roger is now in his mid-70s and settled in his own apartment in Belfast after a tumultuous few years. He lived with his wife and step-daughter but shortly after his 70th birthday his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She became physically and mentally abusive towards Roger whose family knew nothing about what he was going through. Roger has since realised that the abuse had been ongoing throughout their marriage, and he just hadn’t acknowledged it. Roger has three children and five grandchildren from a previous marriage, but his second wife refused to allow him to see his family. Consequently, he had spent years sneaking out to celebrate things like Christmas and his grandchildren’s birthdays. Roger admits he was careless with his money and all his money went into his wife’s bank account and she would give him a weekly allowance to spend.

After leaving an abusive relationship and facing the reality of homelessness, Laoise arrived at Simon Community’s Newry project in February 2024. She was scared, alone, and unsure of what the future held. But through her own resilience and the support of the team, she began to rebuild her life.

At just 22, Meabh had already survived years of hidden homelessness – moving between sofas, the streets, and finally finding safety and stability at Simon Community.