His Mother Was Homeless and Addicted, Now He Saves People on the Same Streets - Brandon O’Connor

<p><strong>He&#39;s 23 and Has Spent Years on Dublin&#39;s Streets Helping the Homeless — Not Because It&#39;s His Job, But Because He Chose To.</strong></p><p>Everyone has walked past someone sleeping rough. Most of us glance, wonder, and keep walking. Brandon O&#39;Connor spends his nights sitting beside those people — hearing their stories and watching addiction, trauma, kindness and hope all exist on the same street.</p><p>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&#39;s streets — and what needs to change.</p><p><strong>What we get into:</strong></p><ul><li>Why most people develop addictions after becoming homeless, not before</li><li>How Dublin Homeless Awareness started as a school project and grew into a frontline service</li><li>The reality of night patrols: overdoses, mental health crises and river rescues</li><li>The systemic gaps that leave people with nowhere to go</li><li>Why homelessness can happen to almost anyone — including nurses, guards and charity workers</li><li>Brandon&#39;s own story: growing up with a mother who was homeless and addicted</li><li>What frontline work does to your own mental health, and how the team protects each other</li><li>The small acts of kindness that people never forget</li><li>What every one of us can do differently when we walk past someone sleeping rough</li></ul><p>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&#39;ve turned adversity into hard-earned wisdom worth sharing.</p><p><strong>Follow:</strong> @madeinchaospod | @chaoscurtis</p><p>To support or report a concern, find Dublin Homeless Awareness on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.</p><p>🖊️ Sponsored by <strong>The Ink Factory</strong>, Temple Bar — Ireland&#39;s highest rated tattoo studio. theinkfactory.ie | @theinkfactory</p>