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02 Dec
The founders of Cork Street Angels are putting a call out for anyone in the city who has a premise that could be used for a late-night cafe for the homeless over the Christmas months. Hazel Dennehy and Bernadette Murphy say that there is a real need for a space where homeless people in Cork city can "meet, have a coffee, play some cards or chat to volunteers, a place where they can be treated like human beings." Hazel is a Tipperary woman who has lived in Mallow for around 35 years. After suffering a personal tragedy when her friend Greg passed away while sleeping rough after becoming homeless, Hazel began working with a soup run in Cork city and eventually set up Cork Street Angels in September of 2019. Cork woman Bernadette Murphy and a great team of local volunteers help Hazel to get hot food to people in need every Monday night with the support of local businesses like Tobin's Deli in Gurranabraher and Haven Cafe and many more. Now they want to work alongside other voluntary groups, church organisations and anyone else willing to chip in to run a safe space for homeless people in the evenings. "The idea is myself and volunteers like Bernadette Murphy would run the late-night cafe and do what we usually do indoors over the winter months, giving people a chance to sit down and socialise out of the cold in a safe place, and we would clean everything up for the morning," she said. Bernadette feels that having somewhere warm to get a bite of food and see some friendly faces will really help with people's mental health. "It is about making people feel human, and that they have somewhere to go where there will be people they know, and can chat to," she said. Hazel got the name of her group after people who were sleeping rough in Cork city started calling her the 'street angel' because she goes out of her way to help people in whatever way she can. It isn't hard to see why, over one cup of tea in Haven Cafe two people come over and thank her, very emotionally, for her help. One is a woman Hazel has helped to start drug treatment, and the other a 23-year-old man she acted as a character witness for as he had to appear in court over a public order offence, which was his first charge. Hazel and the Street Angels "He is a good lad really, he's been helping me out over the last three months, I give him jobs to do. Most people just need to be given some sense of purpose, or to feel like someone is paying attention to them and cares," she says after the young man comes over. Bernadette Murphy, a dedicated Cork Street Angel's volunteer, says that the most valuable thing Hazel gives to disadvantaged people in Cork is love and care. "This woman really does have such a big heart, all the donations she receives go towards helping people out in tight spots, whether they are a family who can't put food on the table or someone who needs a BnB for a few nights, she will go the extra mile for anyone," she said. Hazel herself will admit that since her husband Micheal retired the pair, along with key volunteers like Bernadette dedicate most of their time towards helping people. I won't put my phone on silent at night, just in case, sometimes I get a call from someone at 2 am looking for food, but a few times it has been a cry for help, so I wouldn't take a chance," she said. As the winter months roll in many people are coming to the Cork Street Angels food stall for a hot meal and a chat. 'It changes every week but there is an overall increase since Covid hit, there are more families and elderly people who do have a roof over their head, but struggle to put food on the table Hazel said. Cork Street Angels are also raising money over the winter period to provide homeless people with Sleep pods that will keep people warm and protect them from rain, and can be carried around much more easily than tents. If you are a business owner who has a premise that could be used for a late-night cafe, or you would like to donate towards their work, their Paypal email is streetangelscork@gmail.com or you can contact the group through their Facebook page. .