He's 23 and Has Spent Years on Dublin's Streets Helping the Homeless — Not Because It's His Job, But Because He Chose To.

Everyone has walked past someone sleeping rough. Most of us glance, wonder, and keep walking. Brandon O'Connor spends his nights sitting beside those people — hearing their stories and watching addiction, trauma, kindness and hope all exist on the same street.

Brandon founded Dublin Homeless Awareness at just 16, as a transition year school project. Years later, his team run first-aid patrols, missing-person searches, river-safety patrols and mental health interventions across the city. In this episode, Ryan sits down with him for an honest, eye-opening conversation about what really happens on Dublin's streets — and what needs to change.

What we get into:

  • Why most people develop addictions after becoming homeless, not before
  • How Dublin Homeless Awareness started as a school project and grew into a frontline service
  • The reality of night patrols: overdoses, mental health crises and river rescues
  • The systemic gaps that leave people with nowhere to go
  • Why homelessness can happen to almost anyone — including nurses, guards and charity workers
  • Brandon's own story: growing up with a mother who was homeless and addicted
  • What frontline work does to your own mental health, and how the team protects each other
  • The small acts of kindness that people never forget
  • What every one of us can do differently when we walk past someone sleeping rough

Ryan Curtis is a former Irish MMA fighter who was paralysed from the neck down and told he would never walk again. Made in Chaos exists to platform guests who've turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing.

Follow: @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis

To support or report a concern, find Dublin Homeless Awareness on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

🖊️ Sponsored by The Ink Factory, Temple Bar — Ireland's highest rated tattoo studio. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory

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