Marketing director shares her experience of a night helping homeless people in Dublin

Marketing director and co-founder of GirlCrew Áine Mulloy swapped her high-flying job for the back streets of Dublin recently when she volunteered for homeless charity ICHH.

Áine says she wasn't sure what to expect from the experience and felt quite nervous about her own safety prior to volunteering. "You are taking every bit of advice you've ever received and just tossing it in the bin - 'Don't walk around the city at night, don't talk to strangers, don't go down dark alleyways' - I didn't know what we would encounter and what level of danger (if any) to expect." Áine says the experience showed her, "a totally different side of the city." Reflecting on her night with ICHH, Áine said that homelessness is "not an easy thing to see, and actively engage with. Usually, people just shrug and hurry by, we don't take the time to talk to people and try to help." The warm bonds between all the volunteers were immediately apparent to Áine who said they "felt like one huge extended family... all there for the common good."

"I was shocked to hear that people come from as far as Limerick and Belfast to help, and some of the volunteers are full-time. You really get the sense that everyone is wanted, valued and supported there; whether you've been there 2 years or 2 minutes."

After spending the night on the streets Áine described the conditions for homeless people as "bleak".

"You're seeing the harsh face of the housing crisis. Young lads on the streets, women with little more than jeans and vest tops keeping them warm. People living in tents besides shops." "Here are a bunch of people who are in desperate need of help, and here are a bunch of people able to do something to help, so let's help them. It's as simple as that."

Áine and her team were handing out food, having chats and keeping records of how many homeless people they encountered. She says seeing how the warm and kind spirit of the volunteers affected the people they support was "lovely to see and be part of."

"The experience has had a massive impact on me. And I really didn't expect it. One of the volunteers with I was out with, Daniel, told me it always takes an hour or so after coming home to fall asleep. You need that time to decompress. I kind of laughed it off at the time, but it's true."

As a co-founder of GirlCrew Áine and the rest of the team are no stranger to social justice issues, having been involved with campaigns to diversify the technology industry and the Repeal campaign.

"GirlCrew is a space for women to come together online, chat, share advice, and make friends. Best of all, you can meet up with fellow members in real life so those online friendships become offline ones too." "As a company founded by, and built for women we've always had social issues in our minds. They are things our members face and talk about, things we've faced and talked about."

Their latest campaign is focusing on homelessness.

 "There's no reason that Ireland can't be a good place to both rent and own property. But the needs of both of those groups have to be weighed properly." "We need to start connecting the dots. How can we have ghost estates, empty properties, open land, a hotel boom, skyrocketing rent, and spike in homelessness?" "The fault of that lies at the feet of the government. We need to start talking to our TD's, watching if they actually follow through with what they promise and if they don't deliver then get them out."

"Social housing has to become a priority. Affordable, accommodation that is of good quality is virtually impossible to find. And the rental market needs a complete overhaul with regulations put in place that protect the rights of the tenants, not landlords. We need a body to protect tenants with some actual teeth that is made up of people from a more diverse range of backgrounds."

Girl Crew has launched a campaign called #1paydayaway to highlight how close most people are to homelessness at any point. They're encouraging people to share their stories on social media using the hashtag. They have also set up a GoFundMe to raise funds for the work of ICHH. Áine is also encouraging people to volunteer with a homeless charity.

"We've been so inundated with terrible news all the time it's so easy to feel fatigued, but there is good happening out there. It's happening right under your nose, so join in. Taking the time to give back to your community is invaluable."