The video of this homeless nine-year-old boy will break your heart
There are currently 2,895 homeless children in Ireland right now.
And David is one of these children.
The nine-year-old has cerebral palsy and has been living in his homeless accommodation for two years.
Heartbreakingly, the room in the B&B where he lives is too small for his wheelchair or walker so he has to crawl around on the floor.
In a clip which has been viewed over 127,000 times, David can be seen struggling to climb the steps into his B&B, his mum behind offering him assistance should he need it.
#MyNameIs David. I am 9 years old. I have cerebral palsy and have been homeless for nearly two years. #morningIreland #liveline #sixone pic.twitter.com/XHLfruRBbn
— MyNameIs (@MyNameCampaign) August 23, 2017
The video was shared on Facebook and Twitter by Inner City Helping Homeless as part of their MyNameIs campaign to raise awareness of the desperate situation some families find themselves in.
According to the charity, by January 2018, there will be more children than adults in homeless services, and they want to change the public's perception on homeless.
“We carried out a survey and around 85 percent of people said homelessness was rough sleepers, people begging, or those with substance abuse issues," David Nugent, head of advocacy at ICHH told the Irish Examiner.
”Very few said it was it was family or children. Homelessness has changed and we need to address that.”
#MyNameIs Cíara, and no child should be without their own front door. @MurphyEoghan how can you stand over it? pic.twitter.com/TSI7BLYKaf
— Cíara (@ciaragemmam) August 28, 2017
Today marks National Day Against Child Homelessness in Ireland, and the MyNameIs campaign will see 150 videos similar to David's shared on social media all this week.
2,000 posters of homeless children's faces will also be put up around the country. These will then be turned into a life-sized house which will take pride of place outside Leinster House on Wednesday, 20th September.
“We just thought: ‘what can we do?’ So we came up with #MyNameIs campaign and there are three actions people can take,” David explained.
How many homeless children is too many @MurphyEoghan? Over 100 in Galway alone #MyNameIs pic.twitter.com/qmWpNgLZVa
— SocDems Galway West (@SocDemsGalway) August 28, 2017
“One is to use the #MyNameIs hashtag on social media to start conversations about homelessness; the second thing is to lobby your local councillor, TD, or prospective political candidate on the issue.
"Thirdly, the campaign is asking people to reflect on their skill or trade to see if they can volunteer an hour of their time to help an organisation in their area."