A MAN HAS barricaded himself inside a homeless hostel in Waterford for over a week due to a dispute about a fire alarm.
The standoff between the hostel owner Depaul and the man, who is aged in his 60s, has seen a local city councillor call for sense to prevail over the row.
It’s understood the situation arose after a fire alarm was set off on Thursday 8 August in the McGwire House hostel in Waterford city, which is run by charity Depaul. It offers emergency accommodation and specialised support to men and women experiencing homelessness.
Sources in Depaul say the charity has grown increasingly sensitive about fire alarms in its buildings, following a number of incidents at other homeless hostels including in Dublin’s Little Britain Street.
In Waterford, at least two people were identified as “suspected [of] tampering” with the alarm. They denied doing this but were asked to leave the hostel for five nights.
One man refused to leave the hostel and insisted he had been wrongfully accused. He has remained inside his room since.
“I’m in my 60s and I don’t have anywhere else to go,” the man told The Journal.
I could not leave this room, it’s the only thing that I actually have right now in my life. That’s why I feel so humiliated here. [If I left] then there I would be on the street with nothing.
Since then, due to his refusal to temporarily leave the hostel, he has been told that his bed has been “withdrawn” and he will have to leave the shelter for good.
Shortly before publication, Depaul provided the man with a letter offering to “suspend” its withdrawal of service for his bedroom for five days starting tomorrow.
The letter, delivered yesterday, also states that the man is welcome to leave his room and the hostel and return “without hindrance from staff”. His room “will not be interfered with during any absence”, unless there’s any health and safety issue that needs attention.
It will likely give both sides of the dispute breathing room before the withdrawal of the room takes effect again next week.
Speaking to The Journal, the man said the practice of “taking away a bed as a temporary punishment” was recently introduced as a practice at the hostel and needed to be reversed.
He has complained about his treatment to Depaul.
Depaul told The Journal that it was at all times obeying its normal policies and procedures.
The man told The Journal that he has been living in the hostel long-term for a number of years and refused to leave as he saw it as “potentially life-threatening”.
He spoke on condition of anonymity and is one of several people staying at McGwire House that has been living there long-term.
He has received support from others in the hostel, with a bag containing tuna and bread transported to his room via a rope.
The man further accused the hostel of being “excessive” in how it reacted to the fire alarm being activated last week. It also highlighted how, he said, it sometimes feels to remain in the hostel.
While he believes the hostel has stringent measures in place for sheltering people with addictions and most in need of support, he said this has been extended to apply to all people living in McGwire House.
“To a certain extent they reduce everybody down to being the most volatile. But there’s no presumption of innocence here, they just go to extremes. And here’s a black and white example of how extreme the punishment is,” he said.
He said he became homeless during the pandemic, leaving a home shared with family members. He said that it was typical for many people to leave the hostel within six months previously but said this had decreased due to the housing crisis.
A document provided to the man earlier this week by DePaul said that a review had been carried out into the claims by management and the man.
It found that it was “satisfied that management operated appropriately” and in line with the organisation’s standards.
It also approved of the “approach, tone and actions” of the hostel management.
Independent city councillor Donal Barry told The Journal that he believes the hostel needed to “come to its senses” and provide a “guarantee that it won’t evict” the man in question.
“You cannot be evicting people on the suggestion that you did something wrong. It’s fundamental that you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty,” Barry said.
He said the council has an “obligation” as a key funder for the hostel and as the lead agency for homelessness in the south-east.
Barry added that it raises questions for the local council in “how somebody can be in homeless accommodation for a number of years given the man’s age”.
“We have to ask where is a caseworker for the man from the council to ensure he is accommodated and is able to be housed,” he said.
Waterford City and County Council declined to comment.
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