MY FIRST EXPERIENCE working in social housing was in 1999, in Manchester, where I worked as an administrator in a Housing Office. By the end of my first day, I felt as though I had found my calling. Reflecting over 25 years later, I realise now that my own personal ‘housing story’ has profoundly shaped why social housing is not just my career, but also part of my identity.

In 1984, my dad moved from Cork to London with me and my three siblings, aged between nine and 13. At that time, being a single father was unusual, and, looking back, I am still amazed at how he coped. Previously, he had built his own home, run a hugely successful business, and had a happy family life. Suddenly, he faced the challenge of raising four children alone in a new country, without a home and livelihood.

Before our move, my dad secured accommodation in the private rental sector, only for it to fall through when we arrived. We were left homeless and were housed temporarily by the local authority in emergency Bed & Breakfast accommodation in Waterloo.

My dad applied for social housing, but because he declared ownership of a house in Ireland, he was deemed ineligible. The home he once owned was now occupied by my mum, and, since divorce was not recognised in Ireland at the time, he was caught in a limbo.

For nine months, we lived in a single room, sharing a bathroom with about twenty other people. It was an incredibly challenging time. I remember my dad making repeated visits to Southwark Council’s Housing Office pleading his case for housing, as well as daily trips to the red telephone box making phone calls to either the council or private landlords. Then one day, he jumped out of the red phone box and shouted, “We’ve got a place! We’ve got a place kids!”

The flat we were offered was just off East Street market, South East London, in an estate which had high crime rates and in need of repair, and yet for us, it felt like a palace. Why? Because, for the first time, we experienced security and could have daily structure in our lives.

From the day Southwark Council handed my dad that set of keys to our small social housing flat, we thrived, and I would honestly say that living there was one of the happiest periods of my life.

Real-life stories

It wasn’t until relatively recently that I have come to fully understand the profound impact of that experience, and how it has influenced my lifelong passion and commitment to social housing and need to hear the lived experiences of others.

This understanding has driven me to deliver projects which amplify and record the life stories of our residents, ensuring their stories, like mine, are heard, preserved, and influence how both they and social housing are seen by society today.

In the midst of the current housing crisis, the prime focus of newspaper headlines in Ireland is, rightly, on those thousands of households still in need of a home. However, the effects of long-term housing insecurity for individuals and families must also be considered and tackled.

Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) like Clúid, as not-for-profit organisations with a social purpose, understand this important distinction.

That feeling of handing a new resident the keys to their safe, secure long-term home is like no other in the world, but our work doesn’t stop there. 

One project we delivered, Changing Perceptions, came from a conversation I had with a resident who had grown up in residential care from the age of three and shared with me their life story, which was both captivating and moving – a snapshot of what life was like in Ireland at that time.

That conversation inspired us to deliver reminiscence workshops, so that residents could start feeling comfortable in sharing their life stories and then record them on camera, showcasing their diverse experiences, talents, and contributions.

For example, Eileen shared with us her story of emigrating to New York as a young girl and what she had to do to adjust to a new world, a million miles away from rural Kerry. She shared with us what life was like in New York in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, and what drove her to return home to Kerry later in life.

Colm shared with us his family’s history in music and how he travelled the world with the Up With People group across America. He also told us of the loss of his best friend, at a young age, which impacted him greatly, and described his great love for his mother, who made many sacrifices for her family.

Claudia painted a picture of her memories of her early married life in San Francisco and how she fostered up to forty children over those years. She told us how she came to Ireland on a walking holiday and fell in love with it so much that she put plans in place to live here, and how proud she is to have got her citizenship and have a home overlooking Killarney National Park.

Willie reminisced on how he joined the army with his friends from Longford, travelling the world. He later became the first responder to the Air India Flight 182 disaster off the coast of Cork on 23 June 1985, which claimed the lives of all 329 passengers and crew members – the images of that disaster stay with him still.

Denise shared with us her experience of growing up in care in Liverpool and being separated from her siblings. She told us her story of working on the Shetland Oil rigs, her adventures of smuggling Mercedes cars into Iran, and how she eventually came to live in Ireland.

One of the unexpected outcomes of the project was that, by documenting these lived experiences, the project challenged the stigma and negative assumptions often associated with social housing and shone a huge light on the rich and full lives residents have lived.

Their lives are not defined by their housing status.

Our Elsie Black Oral Histories Project captured the lived experiences of older residents through recorded interviews and storytelling. By positioning residents as knowledge-holders and storytellers, the project cultivated pride and belonging, whilst also dismantling stereotypes about ageing and social housing.

From my experience working on these initiatives, I have learned first-hand that the initial work put into building a community pays dividends in the long run. Cohesive communities look after one another and their surroundings – they consider one another and act accordingly.

Clúid is a proud member of the Housing Alliance, a coalition of Ireland’s seven largest AHBs, which all share this core belief and purpose to provide homes and communities for those who need them. While we strive to deliver as many new homes as possible, in order to meet the urgent and growing housing need, it is vital that we do not forego one of those other great needs – the need for a community. 

When people who have experienced homelessness or housing difficulties and staff can tell their stories in new ways, it can challenge negative assumptions and allow people to discover their capacity to be agents of change and make a real difference in their communities.

Housing stories have the power to inspire, promote understanding and empathy, tackle stigma, and bring positive change.

Rachel Lartey is Housing Manager of Clann, Clúid’s dedicated age-friendly housing service.