A DAD has told how his family will be homeless by the weekend if they can't find somewhere to live.
Alan Fitzpatrick, from Dublin, and his family have been living in the same house for 11 years.
But they are now facing homeless after their planned exit from the property this Friday.
Alan, 37, his wife Kelly, 30, and their three children, Katie, 17, Jack, 10, and Bobby, six, have been living in a house in Clondalkin under the Housing Assistant Payment scheme for the past 11 years.
In January, the couple, who are both unemployed, were told by the landlord they would have to vacate the Dublin property by Friday, August 26.
And with the children set to return to school on Monday, the parents fears are mounting.
Alan told The Star: “I’ve been onto local TDs, South Dublin County Council.
"I’ve sent them videos of our children crying about having to leave their home and the area they live in and go to school in. We just don’t know where we are going to go."
The dad-of-three continued: “No one is helping us and by Friday we are out of the house.
"We will have to ring around again on Friday for accommodation but we fear we won’t have anywhere to go and will end up on the streets just days before the children go back to school."
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Alan added: “The kids are in tears all the time, saying goodbye to their friends, and I just feel we will end up walking the streets this weekend. We have nowhere to go. My kids are completely heartbroken.”
In a statement to The Star, Focus Ireland said: “Most of these individuals already get a HAP payment, which is meant to cover their housing needs but is blatantly failing to do so.
"They can receive some assistance from our competent front-line workers, but we are constantly up against ineffective policies.
"Affordable housing is essential for decreasing poverty in addition to further HAP measures as many households in Ireland are now in danger of poverty due to high housing costs,”
PLEA FOR HELP
Earlier this month, another Dublin mum-of-four was pleading for help to avoid becoming homeless for a second time, saying: “I’m terrified and frustrated.”
Loren Fetherston, 31, has been living with her four kids in a two-bed apartment in Tallaght for the last seven years having previously spent eight months homeless in hotel accommodation.
But now the family of five have until August 24 to find a new place to live after being given notice-to-quit by their landlord.
The mum said the fear of being homeless again is causing havoc with her mental health and has also impacted on her children.
Speaking to the Irish Sun she said: “I finally thought I had found a place where we could really settle and we could stop worrying about things like this, but then seven years down the line and our landlord has decided she doesn’t want to be a landlord anymore.
“I notified Fingal Council in February when I got the notice, and they said there was nothing they could do at the moment.
“They said I would just have to wait it out and when it comes to the time of leaving to contact the number for emergency accommodation."
She added: “I feel completely let down. I just can’t face being homeless again – not while trying to raise four children.”
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