It took Jimmy Wynne a long time to get to a stage where he could call anywhere home. Sitting yesterday in Hazelwood House located next to the canal in Ranelagh, which is supported by the Simon Communities, he says he first sought the help of the organisation in 1988.
At the time, he would usually have just been provided with a bed, which he says "could have been a mattress on the floor".
It was not until 2½ years ago that he was in a position to move to his current accommodation - which includes his own kitchen, shower room and bed, coupled with communal living areas.
Before that, his alcohol addiction had led him to sleep rough, meaning that he remembers being kicked around the street and even urinated upon by others.
He says the people he sees on the streets these days are getting "younger and younger", with many scared to go into independent living.
Due to their problems - for example addictions to alcohol or drugs, or mental health problems - they are simply unable to cope with challenges, such as looking after their bills and doing their own cooking, he says.
He had tried to do this himself in the past, but failed until he came to Hazelwood House and received the support of staff at the centre.
Even then, he says, it took time to adjust to his new home and the stability in his life which it provides. "You can come and go here, you can treat it like your own home," he says.
This is in stark contrast to some emergency accommodation in which he has lived in the past.
There other people can "control you with a key" by determining what time you eat, sleep and have access to your accommodation.
As a result, he used to choose instead to sleep rough.
"It's great to be able to turn on my heating when I want, not when some landlord decides . . . there need to be lots more of these kinds of places," he says. "Now I can say I'm going home."
