Social Affairs

State failing more children and families falling into homelessness, says ombudsman

Ombudsman for Children blames move away from local authority housing for rising numbers in economic homelessness

Dr Niall Muldoon, the Ombudsman for Children, said: 'Children are living in a tough world, a complex world. But children in homelessness have so many other things to do.' Photograph: Gareth Chaney/PA
Cian O'Connell
Sat Aug 17 2024 - 06:00

Numerous governments are to blame for the number of children who will attend school this year while living in emergency accommodation, according to the Ombudsman for Children.

“The move away from local-authority housing during the economic crash of 2008 has led to a situation now where we are consistently failing more and more children and families who are falling into economic homelessness,” Dr Niall Muldoon said.

He was speaking at the official opening of Houben House, a family hub run by the Salvation Army in Dublin that houses 62 families.

More than 14,000 people are currently recorded as homeless in the State, including 4,400 children, according to latest Department of Housing figures. Among them are 2,093 families.

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“Children are living in a tough world, a complex world,” Dr Muldoon said. “But children in homelessness have so many other things to do. Even just achieving the norm of coming home and doing your homework, trying to get some sort of wellbeing is much more difficult in a family hub.

“It’s emergency accommodation which, by its very essence, says: ‘I have no secure shelter here. I’m nowhere safe and I don’t know where I’m going to stay for the next while. I’m not sure if we’ll be here a week, two weeks, a month, a year.’ That’s really tricky for somebody.”

A recent international study by the Lancet Psychiatry Journal revealed that mental health problems and illness among young people are accelerating globally, exacerbated by Covid and the measures taken to contain it.

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office recently published its 20th anniversary children’s survey, which showed that after the cost-of-living crisis, mental health services are the biggest issue among Irish students today.

“What child has more complex issues than here?” Dr Muldoon asked. “Some of the children here would be fleeing from wherever they came from in other parts of the world. Some children have just been in economic homelessness.

“Their parents are struggling. It’s a small room, a big family. It’s really, really difficult. Any friends they make can’t go to their house. Some of them [deal with] stigma.”

[ Ombudsman demands action over ‘desperate situation facing so many vulnerable children in Ireland’ ]

Houben House operates trauma-informed care facilities, including a sensory room that acts as a safe space for children, particularly those with developmental difficulties.

“It’s key because we have seen different services in the past that are a lot smaller – they wouldn’t have the facilities,” said Anthony Byrne, service manager for the family hub. “The whole issue with children moving in is they are missing milestones. Developmental milestones. Those type of spaces make it a small bit easier.

“We can see more and more children as well with additional needs coming into services, so it can be extremely difficult.”

Since 2020, Houben House has been assisting resident families in finding long-term accommodation. The choice-based letting system, which allows people to register their interest in vacant properties as opposed to just adding their name to a waiting list, has improved the turnaround for some of the people living in the family hub.

Roughly 350 parents and children currently reside there, making it the largest family hub in Ireland and within the Salvation Army, the largest in Europe. Dr Muldoon is positive about the standards of the facility, but he is quick to draw attention to the need for longer-term solutions.

“I’m very encouraged by this and if we can move to a situation where the children and families are moving through here quickly, these sorts of facilities can be used for other things.

“They can be used for children in domestic violence situations – they could be used for halfway houses for adolescents coming out of addiction. If we can get on top of homelessness, these facilities could still be worthwhile for the Government to use in the future.”