Food or fees: for some students the choice is really that simple

In the depths of recession, people from every background are affected in ways they would never have thought possible. People who were once financially stable are now unemployed and struggling to pay mortgages. Families who were once jetting abroad twice a year are finding it hard to pay their bills.

Students, who are notoriously known as “poor” are more than that. Some students can’t afford their registration fees. Others can’t afford to pay rent. There are even some that can’t afford the cost of living that Dublin demands; some students can’t afford to eat.

The “poverty” typically associated with being a student is a different type of poverty than what is being seen in cities around Ireland, and indeed elsewhere.

Usually, the poor life of a student means that you choose to eat a diet that consist mainly of beans because you want to keep your money to spend it on the fun aspects of college life. You forsake quality foods for new clothes and alcohol, but you always have the money to buy a meal when you are hungry.

Choosing to go without food is a completely different story than not being able to afford food.

According to the St Vincent De Paul, calls for aid are up almost 35% on last year. “The majority of these calls are coming from what we are calling the new poor. These are people who last year would have been donating to us, but this year need our help,” a spokesman for the society said.

“Single parents and families with children in education need the most help. College registration fees have gone up and in a lot of cases there just aren’t the resources to cope with it. In some families, one or both parents have been made unemployed and it is difficult for students to get full time work to support themselves.”

The SVP do offer some financial aid to students, in the form of an education grant. Paula Fay, from the SVP’s financial department said “ this grant is for people who need help with the academic areas of university.

It is used for registration fees, and goes towards stationery, books or childcare; things that are essential so that someone can go to college. The fact that more people are unemployed and choosing to go back to full time education means that this grant is necessary for some people.

However, it is not much and does not contribute to rent or living costs.” This grant is available to all students, new and current, and is granted after a case assessment.

The Capuchin Fathers, who are based on Merchants Quay have also noted a sharp increase in the number of people using their services.

This organisation is both a homeless shelter and a place where people can get food.

Every Wednesday morning, volunteers distribute almost 1,000 food packages to the hungry. They also provide dinners every day for people who can’t afford to buy for themselves.

One volunteer said: “There definitely has been an increase in the amount of young people using the centre.

“We have an open door policy here so we don’t ask questions but you can see that there are a lot of people in their 20s coming here, you can guess some are students.

“We also get a lot of immigrants and people who can’t find work coming to us for help.”

Despite the best efforts of organisations like these, charities are finding it difficult to find money to finance their aid. An SVP spokesperson said “we are coping with demand, but obviously donations are down because many families need the money they would have donated in previous years for their own purposes. It is difficult for everyone at the moment.”

Both SVP and The Capuchin Brothers operate an open door service and students can contact them confidentally at www.svp.ie and www.homeless.ie