‘Homelessness is something that really affects me in a way that nothing else does’

A JULIANSTOWN man who lost his home in 2016 says he decided to take on the challenge of running and walking 1 million steps in 30 days to “help others less fortunate than him” who have fallen on hard times.

Colin McKenna (40) and his wife Marta bought their dream family home in Ballivor in 2006 at the height of the Celtic tiger. The couple envisioned living there happily for the rest of their lives with their three children Nicholas (19), Donna (17) and Karolyn (15) but when the economic downturn came crashing down so did their hopes for the future and were forced to give up their home and start from scratch.

Luckily the couple had the support of their families in Julianstown and Villarreal in Spain where Marta hails from to help them get on their feet again but Colin says he realises that not everyone is so lucky.

With that in mind, the Julianstown man wanted to do something to help those faced with homelessness and is currently on day 25 of his challenge to raise funds for Focus Ireland, a nonprofit organisation that provides services for people who are homeless and people at risk of homelessness in Ireland.

Kind hearted Colin has already raised over €1,200 of his €1,500 target.

“Homelessness is something that really affects me in a way that nothing else does.

“In 2016 we became very close ourselves to being homeless. We had to give up our family home because we couldn’t afford to pay our mortgage anymore but we weren’t so bad because at least we had family support but not everyone does.

“We were able to emigrate to Spain because my wife is Spanish and we lived there for a few years and we eventually came back here last year to my parent’s house where we at staying at the moment.

“It has kind of come full circle, things have improved a lot since 2016 and we are finally saving for a mortgage again but a lot of families don’t have the support that I had and was very fortunate to have.

“There are many families with children in emergency accommodation and that kind of thing really gets to me, that they are going from hotel to hotel night after night and I can’t imagine how difficult that must be and how stressful that must be for parents.

The fundraiser is based on endurance inspired by Colin’s impressive family history with cycling as he explains:

“I really wanted to do something to make a small difference so I’m putting my body on the line or at least that’s how it feels!

“I’m on day 25 now, it’s working out at around 25km a day and the body definitely sore but it will be worth it.

“My Dad was a great amateur cyclist and my uncle Ben won the Rás Tailteann in 1959 and was one of the first Irish cyclists to cycle abroad and represent Ireland so I have grown up watching them push themselves to the limit.”

Colin describes the events that led up to losing the family home in 2016. He said: “We had bought the house in 2006 at the height of the boom so we were hit with massive negative equity.

“I was working two jobs, at the airport, driving buses at the weekends and also giving guitar lessons. My wife had a business and that was going well but we just couldn’t sustain the amount of work we were doing without having family life.

“We looked at selling but what we owed was nearly double of what the house was valued at so we were like we can’t sell but can’t afford to pay to keep paying the mortgage what do we do.

“We thought we don’t want to go through the embarrassment or shame of being evicted so we made a deal with the bank so they got the house and we got out of it so we could start again.

“It was hard because I put so much work into the house, I converted the attic, we ventilated the house, we insulated it and then to be told that the value was only half of what we owe was a real punch in the stomach and left us with no real option.

“We found an insolvency agency that will talk to the bank on your behalf, they were very professional and handled everything very well.

“It was very stressed for our family but we managed to get through it and we are looking forward to the future.

“It completely broadened my mind as to what could easily happen if you don’t have support around you and to be grateful for everything you have."