Help Piotr to stay in college

UPDATE:

We are still emailing and connecting with politicians, state organisations, university access departments and anyone else we can think of that might be able to help. He is still being disadvantaged because of state care failures that were entirely out of his control as a child. The importance of this being recognised and his getting approval for supports this year can't be underestimated, as this will affect the next few years of college for him.

Just over the past few weeks he has had more financial set-backs with some supports being withdrawn etc. It is a constant stress for him, as once he finishes in college in the beginning of May he will once again be on his own. Every donation is gratefully received and is incredibly meaningful for Piotr in tiding him over until we can get more long term supports in place.

Hi there, I'm posting this fundraiser to support a friend of one of my children, Piotr Filipek. He recently started his degree studies in Global Business at Trinity College. Unfortunately he has been unable to secure the scholarships that he had expected to get and is now facing the prospect of being unable to continue his education due to insufficient support & system failures.

He grew up with Gardai regularly called to his home, experiencing violence by the adults around him. He did not experience a “normal family life” and was subjected to much abuse throughout his childhood. By the time he got out of the house at 17 under frightening circumstances, he was told by a Garda to contact Tusla, Child & Family agency. He reached out, but they simply advised him to “try to get someone to stay with”, which they now call “a private arrangement”. While “private arrangements” may work for some young people with extended families, this was unlikely to work long term for Piotr, as he had no surrounding family that he could look to for help. He had nobody to advocate for him.

Unfortunately, what he didn’t know then, was that the arrangements that Tusla suggested to him then, would eventually be used by the Department of Higher and Further Education to block him from accessing scholarships to study at university.

At just 17 years of age, after growing up with many forms of abuse, he was left to fend for himself on the streets. Living on the street, as you can imagine, dreadful things happened to him. He was assaulted, beaten up and robbed on several occasions. He has lived on benches, doorways etc, wherever he could find a space. Yet despite spending 2 years bouncing between being homeless, couch surfing, trying to find nights in hostels or shelters, he kept focused on his studies & achieved an incredible 600 points in his Leaving Certificate. He recently was invited back to his secondary school and received an award acknowledging this achievement.

Unfortunately, despite all his efforts to complete his studies, and progress, he is now in a situation where he has been repeatedly refused the necessary scholarships, for reasons listed below.

• Because Tusla avoided taking him on as a “case”, despite his being homeless and alone for 5th & 6th year, he does not meet the rigid criteria applied by the Department of Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) to these funds. Therefore, he is directly blocked from accessing scholarships and consequently can’t access his education.

• He has been told that he is ineligible, because he wasn't in care between ages 16 & 18, even though it is very clear that he should have been. By the age of 17, when he eventually got away, he had already experienced many forms of abuse and had been let down repeatedly and deplorably as a younger child. The failure to provide him with the support and care he needed, in a timely and appropriate manner, between those years is now being used as a reason to with-hold scholarship funding from him. Important to note that these scholarships are used by DFHERIS to illustrate their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion credentials, but the irony is that their criteria is excluding and disadvantaging the very person they should be assisting.

• Another reason he has been refused funding and scholarships, that has been cited to him, is because he wasn't getting welfare payments for a certain length of time. Yet in this country, any child who is attending school does not receive welfare payments. It is another bizarre take, to use this as a reason to refuse him funding.

It is hard to believe that these reasons are all directly cutting off a boy, who has spent most of the past 2 years homeless, striving to get to college, from accessing vital scholarships & funding that would undoubtedly help him to access and excel in his education. It is shameful that he is now being forced out of the education he deserves because of the failures to support him as a child.

Piotr is a polite, grateful and talented young man who presents himself well. As can be seen by his Leaving Cert results, he is determined, conscientious and resilient. He values education and would do amazingly well in higher education, if given appropriate, timely & sufficient help.

Despite the difficulties of his childhood and homelessness, he has already proven how capable he can be. He managed to centre himself, primarily through focusing on his education, his curiosity, basketball, his creative work and his determination to progress. He has learned to be independent and resourceful. As a homeless child, he worked jobs to feed and support himself, while also at school. He is genuinely appreciative of the supports that he has received in the past. He is a student that will undoubtedly be enriched by furthering his education, and who most certainly will be a valuable and aware contributor to society if he is given the opportunity.

Since Piotr grew up in a chaotic home, he will benefit enormously from being able to participate in college life, being able to develop communities of friends and acquaintances, and being able to build networks of support around himself. He deserves the equity and the opportunities that come so effortlessly to the typical Trinity College demographic.

Piotr is deeply grateful for the support that he has received from St Vincent de Paul, the Trinity College staff, Trinity committees, the Trinity Access Program and by other contacts within the staff who have all tried to assist him. Unfortunately their hands are tied by what scholarship funds they can offer because of the criteria laid down by the Department of Further & Higher Education. This is clearly a bigger issue for the DFHERIS that cannot be solved quickly. It certainly cannot be solved in a time frame that will support Piotr.

The security of a place to live however is the most important factor. It affects everything for him.

• With four years of college ahead of him, he will need ongoing support to ensure he can complete his studies. Currently he is in college accommodation but cannot afford it. He faces being homeless again. Even if he makes it to May, he will again be homeless. The constant stress of being back on the streets is taking its toll on him. College accommodation will easily be 10k each year, excluding any additional summer accommodation he must find.

• As he has no family support, he will be funding his own subsistence, transport, living essentials, food etc, during his time at college.

• He will also need to raise finance for any additional academic expenses during college years.

• The unseen aspects of growing up without appropriate care for his welfare, and from having been homeless for two years, have also had health and dental impacts for Piotr. Without appropriate dental care as a child, he has problems that consequently need dental work. None of which he can afford. Any additional funding would be gratefully used to help him address these issues.

• Piotr will need time to process his experiences as he matures. The effects of his childhood may impact him at different times in many unpredictable ways. It would be vital for him to have some funds available to ensure that he can access the help he needs at the times he most needs it.

Please give him a boost to help him stay in college and to flourish, making the most of his education and his experiences. He will most certainly contribute all the support he receives back into the world around him.

Thank you so much for reading all of this, and I hope you can spare a contribution for Piotr.