Christmas is that time of year for families to come together and share the magic and joy of the festive season in their homes.  However, this Christmas over 1,500 children across Ireland will have no place to call home. 800 families in this country will experience the nightmare of homelessness this Christmas. These families are forced to live in emergency accommodation. Often 3 or 4 people are squeezed into one room with nowhere to cook or for children to play. Mum of three small children, Sandra knows what it’s like not to have a home at Christmas. Like so many other families in Ireland today, Sandra and her children were renting their home. They never thought they’d ever be homeless. But when the rent went up again – for the third time in three years – and they couldn’t afford to pay it. Just two weeks before Christmas, Sandra and her young family were forced to leave their home and find somewhere else. This proved impossible with rents spiraling out of control and a chronic lack of available housing. There was no place for them to go. The local authority placed the family in emergency accommodation in one small room on the top floor of a Dublin City Centre B&B. At first Sandra was relieved. She had a roof over her head and a dry place for her children to sleep. Little did she know that she and her three children would have to remain in that one small room for nearly two years. Sadly, the incredible thing about Sandra’s story is that it is not unique. Right now, all across the country, there are hundreds of families who are trapped in the same desperate spiral of homelessness. Describing being homeless, Sandra remembered how Christmas was the most difficult as she struggled to keep the full horror of the situation from her children. She said: “Christmas was the worst. The kids wanted to see lights and everything else. But we didn’t have that. We just had a little miniature tree, a few little decorations on the window and a calendar. That was it.” The family was forced to live in that B&B for two years. It was only when Sandra made contact with Focus Ireland that things started to change. Focus Ireland helped Sandra negotiate her way through the bureaucratic housing system – helping her to successfully apply for rent supplement and search for affordable accommodation. Focus Ireland also provided Sandra’s children with Child Support Workers to provide one-to-one practical and emotional support as being homeless can have a terrible impact on children. Sandra says she will never forget the day they finally got a home of her own. “When I walked in the door for the first time, I got this feeling. I just knew – this was my home. I just knew it. It was amazing.” Sandra’s life is completely different now. She no longer has to fight for space in a communal kitchen just to cook a meal for her family. Her children are free to have friends over. And, with the security of a home of her own, Sandra has even been able to go back to work. This year the family will have Christmas in the comfort of their own home. “The kids are all excited. They’re already planning what decorations to put up. And for the first time in a long time, we are even going to have a proper tree.”   How to help TV3 and Focus Ireland have teamed up to raise awareness and funds for those who find themselves homeless. From 9.45am to 5.45pm on Monday 21st December, a giant mural will be erected outside the piazza in front of Bank of Ireland on College Green. People are invited to come along and leave a handprint on the giant mural to show their hand of support for homelessness. If TV3 succeed in collecting over 3000 handprints, it will mean a guaranteed €6000 (€2 per handprint) in donations to Focus Ireland and a new Guinness World Record! For those who can’t make it into College Green for the fundraising initiative, you can show your hand of support by taking a short video or picture showing your unique ‘Hand4Homelessness’ and texting “HAND” to 50300 to donate €2. For more information www.focusireland.ie or call 1850 204 205