The CEO of the North West Simon Community says the 85% increase in homelessness in the North West region since May 2022 is truly appalling.
There has been a 26% increase in child homelessness in the region since last month.
Government figures which show that the three Local Authorities in the North West region provided emergency accommodation to 170 individuals during the last week of May 2023.
The figure includes 52 people in Donegal, 11 in Leitrim and 59 in Sligo.
This number is a jump of 84.7% year on year when compared with the 92 individuals homeless in May 2022.
The rural nature of homelessness in the region is emphasised by the fact that 11 adults were provided with local authority-funded homeless accommodation in County Leitrim last month. For statistical reasons, the number homeless in adjoining counties are reported together, if there are less than ten adults homeless in one county. This is the first time that a separate figure was recorded for Leitrim, and Noel Daly fears that it won’t be the last time.
Mr Daly said: “North West Simon Community’s Housing Information and Tenancy Service provided support to 84 households at risk of or experiencing homelessness in the county in 2022, and we expect a similar number of households to seek support in Leitrim during 2023. The demand for our services in counties Donegal and Sligo is equally strong and with significant deficiencies in the availability of affordable housing in either county, new measures to halt people’s progression into homelessness are urgently needed.
“Nationally there were 12,441 people living in Local Authority managed emergency accommodation in the last week of May 2023. This latest figure represents a 51.49% increase in the number of people homeless, since Housing for All, the Government’s national strategy on housing was published in September 2021, and highlights the need for additional measures to be developed to respond to homelessness.”
Noel Daly points out that the Monthly Homeless Reports published by Government relate only to individuals and families provided with emergency accommodation by the local authorities.
“They do not include households frequently described as the “hidden homeless”. People and families sleeping rough, living in cars and tents, sofa surfing, escaping domestic violence in refuges, sharing with parents, family, and friends, and/or living in houses unfit for habitation.”
