Record high homeless numbers in North West region

Official homelessness figures are at the highest ever recorded in the region and Noel Daly, CEO of North West Simon, said the figures do not even show the full extent of the crisis.

The charity that exists since 2005 to fight homelessness and support those facing homelessness said that, taking into account the new figures, homeless services need significantly increased funding and they are appealing to local TDs to lobby the Government on the matter.

The Department of Housing’s Monthly Homelessness Report for July 2022, showed that 106 individuals including 22 child dependents were provided with local authority managed emergency accommodation in counties Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo, during the week of 20-26 July 2022.

“We have had a huge jump in the number of child dependents (22) in emergency accommodation and a record number of people overall (106) in the North West during July 2022,” Noel Daly said.

“The existing resources simply aren’t sufficient to ensure every household receives the support needed to exit homelessness.

In July 2022, 80 homeless households were provided with emergency accommodation in the North West. This included 69 single adults and 11 families, made up of 15 adults and 22 children.

This is an increase of 8.1% when compared to the 98 people in June 2022 and an increase of 13.7% when compared year on year.

There has been an increase of 29.11% in the number of children experiencing homelessness in the region year on year.

These monthly statistics show that 51 households were accommodated in Sligo in July 2022 and 33 were in Donegal or Leitrim.

In terms of support, 43% had been provided with supportive temporary accommodation in facilities that employ social care staff. while 57% (48 households) were provided with private emergency accommodation with visitor support, or temporary accommodation with no, or minimal, support in B&Bs, hostels, and hotels.

“The majority of people experiencing homelessness do not receive day to day support to deal with their personal housing crisis, because the current level of funding to support the work of the community and voluntary bodies and the local authorities is grossly inadequate,” Noel Daly said.

“A new Homeless Action Plan is being developed for the region at present but the instruction from the Department of Housing is that any services developed as part of the plan must be provided in the context of ‘existing resources’.

“The Government didn’t make any specific provision for extra resources for the homeless community and voluntary sector in its housing strategy Housing for All, and it is patently obvious that existing resources are not sufficient.

“We hope and trust that the politicians will respond to our call for their support at this crucial point so that the need for households to access homeless emergency accommodation is ended as soon as possible,” he said.