A term one student at the School of Communication Arts, the world's most awarded advertising school, has released a Christmas song that highlights the staggering figures of millennials unable to afford to move out of home, as the number of abandoned and derelict buildings seems to be growing.
Rapidly increasing rent and housing prices have led many in their 20s and 30s to be referred to as the ‘Hidden Homeless, adults who have no other option but to stay living with their parents well into their 30s. Millennials are considered to be the first generation with a lower standard of living than their parents. This comes at a time of global pandemic, recession and widespread mental health issues.
Chip McCoy (aka Chip the Dead Dog)
said: I had always wanted to
write a Christmas song and the issues with housing in Ireland resonated with me
and a lot of people I know who are still living at home, unsure of what our
next move is. I decided this was the year.
Author and Assistant
Professor of Social Policy at Maynooth, Rory Hearne's Uplift petition to bring housing reform to
Irish parliament was 1000 signatures short of the 40,000 needed, which gave
McCoy a boost to bring the song to life with a tangible aim other than raising
awareness.
McCoy said: "I felt like I could use my indie emo bedroom recording for good, finally. I wouldn't recommend deciding to write and produce a Christmas song on the 1st of December, unless you enjoy nosebleeds, but the pressure ensured it actually happened. I'm considering it a fashionably late contender for the Christmas #1. And if it sells, I'll be able to buy a house for myself."
The festive
toe-tappin-tearjerker‘ Millennial Whoop (Please Don't Make Me Go
Home for Christmas)' can be bought on Bandcamp
for £1000 and is limited to the first 250 downloads (£250,000 being the average
price of a house across the UK & Ireland). Soon to be available to stream
across all platforms.
Follow Chip the Dead Dog here