Marie Farrell, originally from Kildare but now living in Dublin, started using Focus Ireland’s services when she found herself homeless three years ago.

At that point she was coming out of addiction, struggling with her mental health and “carrying grief, shame and guilt”.

She said she “felt like a statistic” and “was suicidal at one point because I didn’t think I mattered”.

Now housed, she works for the charity helping people dealing with homelessness, addiction and mental health issues and aims to give people hope.

Speaking at the launch of its annual report, she said the help she received from her key worker saved her life.

“For a long time, I couldn’t see a way out,” she said of being homeless for eight months.

“If you can imagine going into a very dark, dark room with no windows

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