The “deepening human crisis” of homelessness is “not inevitable” and can be ended with “the right policies”, chief executive of Focus Ireland has said.
Pat Dennigan, speaking at the publication of the charity’s 2023 annual report on Tuesday, said it was “wrong” that 4,401 children in 2,096 families were in emergency accommodation – as shown in the latest Government figures published last week.
“As a society we must demand that much more is done to protect children whose childhoods are being stolen one day at a time,” said Mr Dennigan.
Focus Ireland, the lead charity working with homeless families and young people homeless or at risk of homelessness, supported 1,851 families last year – 11 per cent more than in 2022. These included 4,223 children.
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In addition, 450 adult-only households and 486 families were supported out of homelessness and 657 households were supported to keep their homes.
Referring to the latest homelessness data, showing in July there were 14,429 people in emergency shelter, Mr Dennigan said this increase of 126 on the June total represented a 12 per cent increase since July 2023.
“Summer is meant to be a carefree time for children, but the harsh reality is that thousands of kids have just started a new school year coming from emergency accommodation such as hotels and family hubs. It is wrong that this is happening. Homelessness inflicts severe trauma on everyone, but it is especially devastating for children.
“In the face of such a deepening human crisis it is more important than ever that we do not become overwhelmed and lose heart on this issue ... It is vital to continue to emphasise that homelessness is not inevitable. It is possible to end it with the right policies in place.”
Among those Focus Ireland supported last year was Anselm Leahy, in his 50s, who became homeless in the late 1990s when the local authority home he shared with his late mother was returned to the council when she went into old folks’ housing. He was in active addiction at the time and spent a year couch-surfing before sleeping rough and in hostels. “I wasn’t cut out for the streets or hostels,” he said on Tuesday.
Things “turned around” when he accessed Focus Ireland accommodation in Dublin in 2001 where he received training in “life skills” such as cooking.
He began learning to read and write, got clean and sober, and learned to drive. He was accepted on to an adult learning course and progressed to University College Dublin, where he gained a qualification in drug counselling theory and intervention skills. It was in UCD he discovered he was dyslexic, which helped explain his lack of success in mainstream education as a child – where he “got many beatings” from teachers, he says.
He had begun drinking aged 14 because “there was a lot of pain in my life at the time”.
Since becoming clean he has worked with addicts. Today he rents his apartment provided by Focus Ireland. He credits the
charity with helping to turn around his life. “Focus gave me a foundation for everything,” he says.
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