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Moving
On
As players put in some serious training in preparation for the Homeless
World Cup 2008 Jennifer May talks to three young
men who have seen their lives change for the better since their
participation in the Street League Program
When Ireland’s Issues decided to send a fledgling
football team out to Gratz, Austria to play in the first Homeless
World Cup in 2003, the organizers immediately saw the positive impact
it had on the young men who took part. The enthusiasm and hard work
with which the participants - most of who were caught in the hopeless
cycle of homelessness - embraced the training regime and the positive
effects that were immediately visible, convinced the organizers
that a year round street league was crucial to offering these young
people the support and the ‘hand-up’ they needed.
Homelessness, long term unemployment and addiction marginalise people
in ways that is hard for most of us to imagine. There is the lack
of structure, the lack of belonging and the feeling that nobody
notices, or cares about your existence. And someone who has existed
on the periphery of society for any length of time often finds it
almost impossible to make their way back in. Sport often acts as
a catalyst for change and the Issues Street League aimed to use
football to break this cycle of homelessness and deprivation - as
the league grew so did the positive results as many of the players
changed their lives completely.
Since its inception, many different agencies including CASP (Clondalkin
Addiction Support Programme), the De Paul Trust and Merchants Quay
Ireland have come together for the first time in the last few years
through the league, and this has helped promote cross-culture understanding
between the various agencies working the areas of homelessness,
unemployment and addiction; a new street league was also launched
in Limerick City at the end of January.
‘Over the past five years, with support from Dublin City Council,
FAI, sponsors Start Mortgages and Lifestyle Sports, Issues Street
Soccer League has grown and expanded more than we could ever have
envisaged back in 2003,’ says Sean Kavanagh, founder of Street
League and editor of Ireland’s Issues. ‘And whatever
our successes on the football pitch, it is the momentous changes
that we have seen in the lives of the players that really bring
home the importance of continuing with the league regardless of
the pressures.’
Danny Mc Evoy (27) got involved with the street league through CASP
four years ago. He became involved with drugs when he first left
school at the age of fifteen and the next few years of his life
were chaotic as his drug addiction led him in and out of prison.
Like so many young people fighting addiction there seemed to be
no way out of this cycle of drugs and crime, but on his last release
from prison Danny found help through CASP, and through them started
playing football.
‘I started playing every Saturday with the league,’
remembers Danny. ‘It was great going out there, meeting other
people; we even played against the Gardai! It really gave you confidence,
motivated you to keep yourself together, get fit and gave you something
to look forward to every week.’
Danny’s life has now changed completely. He has been working
for the last three years as a facilitator in an Internet café
and he is also an IT instructor teaching ECDL level computer skills.
He is still involved with the league and although he hasn’t
represented Ireland in the World Cup, is hoping that he can get
fit enough for a chance to play on the team going to Melbourne in
December.
‘The League is great’ says Danny. ‘Playing football
is one of the best ways of getting out your frustrations. I’ve
also made lots of friends through it - even if I’m not playing
its great to go to the centres, have a cup of tea and watch the
other teams play.’
For people who have been isolated for so long, whether through unemployment,
homelessness or addiction, this kind of socialisation is crucial
to their recovery. Chris (33), who is also involved in the street
league, agrees.
‘Making friends and knowing there was someone I could talk
to, made such a difference to me’ he says. ‘Being involved
with the league gave you that sense of belonging - you were part
of a team - you felt you couldn’t let the lads down, that
you had a responsibility.’
Chris is another of the league’s many success stories. Having
left school in his early teens his life also spiralled out of control
when he became involved with drugs and crime. Off drugs for many
years now, he returned to school and completed his Junior Cert before
going on to third level education; he is now in his second year
of a three year degree course in university and is hoping to work
in the arena of drug rehabilitation on completion of his degree.
Education has opened his mind to the many possibilities open to
him and he is confident about the future.
‘The gap between where I was to where I am now is amazing,’
grins Chris. ‘I love studying - it has opened my mind to a
lot of things in my life. While my recovery was a combination of
a lot of things, playing in the street league has given me focus
and hope and enabled me to gain control of my life.’
Gerard Clifford found himself homeless on the streets of Dublin
a few years ago after his heavy drinking had forced him to leave
the family home in Nenagh, Tipperary. Having quit drinking Gerard
became involved with the league and soon immersed himself in practicing
every weekend. ‘I found the supports I needed in the league,’
he remembers. ‘It kept me sane and I was meeting lots of interesting
people.’
Gerard went to represent Ireland in Gothenburg in 2004 and played
mid-field position in South Africa in 2006, an experience that he
will never forget.
‘If you are homeless in Ireland there are shelters to go to,
somewhere to get food,’ he points out, ‘but the kids
in Africa literally have to fight for their lives.’
Gerard says that his life is now ‘going brilliantly’.
His confidence has soared; he is in control of his life and although
he now plays football with Ronanstown Football Club, he remains
in close contact with all his friends from the street league. He
has also become a dad and absolutely loves his new found responsibility
as father to an eight-month old son.
‘The league helped me so much,’ reiterates Gerard. ‘I
got so much support and found so many friends from football. Take
it from me being involved gives you so much confidence, and if you
work hard, opportunities to travel that you would never normally
get. For me life has never been better!’
‘Taking part in a soccer league like this is such a confidence
booster,’ agrees Kavanagh. ‘It gives people who have
found themselves in difficulties a real sense of self-worth and
demonstrates that they can achieve objectives far beyond what theywould
have though possible.
It is these personal stories that remain the real inspiration for
all those who work so hard maintaining the league, and serve to
remind us all that this soccer street league is about so much more
than just a game of football!