Charity urges end to homelessness

Helping people out of homelessness and into permanent accommodation not only ends a cycle of misery but results in a huge cost saving.

That was the claim made by Threshold as the housing charity discovered that, in Cork, it costs €15,000 more to provide emergency housing.

The annual cost of maintaining a person in emergency accommodation in Cork is around €23,000, it was revealed.

However, the cost of delivering a permanent housing solution in the city is €8,000 — made up of a rent supplement for a single person, together with tenancy support.

The Access Housing Unit, operated by Threshold in Cork, was launched yesterday.

It has been operating since September and, in the first six months, helped 38 people move into private accommodation.

Of those helped by the service, 24 had previously been in emergency hostel accommodation. Only two of the 24 tenancies created had failed after both individuals suffered alcohol addiction and disengaged from the service.

Threshold chairwoman Aideen Hayden said more of the State’s homeless budget should be diverted away from emergency accommodation and moved towards solutions like the Access Housing Unit.