Tom Mahoney and his wife Jasmina spent nearly a decade living in a cabin in his mother's garden in Ballymun in Dublin, before they secured a home of their own.
"The struggle that we had started eight or nine years ago when the rents started to rise so we decided to build a cabin in my mother's back garden, with the intention to be there only a year or two to save for a deposit for a house," Tom, a social worker, said.
Despite their best efforts, it did not go to plan.
"When we went to bid on houses, we kept getting outpriced and eight years later we were still there with no hope in sight of having a home for our little family," he added.
By then they had welcomed their son Hunter and they decided the best option for his future was to emigrate.
"We got the ball rolling for that, spent a lot of money and got my qualifications assessed over there," Tom explained.
"Then we woke up one morning and we got an email from Tuath [Housing] to say we were chosen applicants for this new build in Balbriggan," he added.
"We were over the moon, there were lots of tears of joy," he said, recalling the surprise and delight that they had been lucky in this lottery system.
Jasmina described her gratitude at having a place "finally" with a bathroom and shower.
"We were all in one room, " she said, recalling their time in the cabin and the difference it made moving from a garden to a home with a garden.
"Hopes and dreams is what this is all about," said Tom with a broad smile. "And there are so many other people out there waiting for this to happen to them. I think more needs to be done with regards to cost rental housing."
Tom had gone to college at the age of 38 to try and secure a job as a social care worker and improve the circumstances for his family.
However, he found himself "stuck in limbo", earning too much to qualify for social housing but nowhere near enough to rent or buy.
"We were actually worse off when I started working than we were when I was on a lower wage.
"People who earn a little more than the average wage are being forgotten about. It is better for some not to work because you get more housing benefits, you get on the housing list," he added.
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Last September he filled out an application for Tuath Housing and forgot about it.
He and his family were packing to emigrate to Canada earlier this year when he received word that Tuath may have a home for them. They were given the keys for their cost rental home in May.
Content in this new build with a guarantee of long term security and paying rent below the market rate, they feel they can plan their lives and look forward.
"We couldn't plan anything and the main concern was Hunter," said Tom. "What was his future going to be like? We can't live in a cabin for the next 10 or 15 years for this guy to give him a better quality of life."
The couple know that many others are in a similar situation to the dilemma they were once in.
"We were the hidden homeless living in our parents' back garden hoping that something might change and no matter what we did it wasn't going to change. No matter how much money we saved it wasn't going to change. Thanks to Tuath and other organisations for giving us a chance," he said.
"I know it is a lottery, but it is still a chance. Your name is pulled out of a hat. And thankfully ours was. We are living our dream now," he added.
Neither of them take this for granted.
"I remind myself how lucky we are," said Jasmina.
"There are times when we come in from work and we look around or are sitting in the back garden and watching Hunter play and going, wow, I never thought this," Tom said.
