Tracing the roots of youth homelessness
A conference on youth homelessness, organised by Focus Ireland, heard that five, or one third, of young adults whose pathway through youth homelessness was tracked were in prison.
Three were in adult hostels or B&Bs, two others were on the streets, with another either on the streets or on a friend’s sofa. Just one had a home of his own, and none were in aftercare.
Young women who had experienced youth homelessness were more likely to find themselves on a stable footing, with seven out of 13 whose progress was tracked living in the private rented sector. Two had a home and two were in transitional or supported housing.
The research, carried out by a team from Trinity College Dublin led by Dr Paula Mayock, argues that just as traumatic life events, such as parental illness or death, family conflict and parental drug or alcohol abuse, can contribute toward youth homelessness, homelessness can be difficult to escape once older and is often exacerbated by negative peer associations and problem behaviour.
Child law expert and government-appointed special rapporteur Geoffrey Shannon said aftercare needed to be mandatory.
He reminded Fine Gael and Labour, who are likely to form the next government, that both had committed to mandatory aftercare and he would be held holding them to account if it was not provided.
He said access to aftercare services was a key recommendation in the Ryan and Murphy reports on child abuse, and that it needed to be addressed alongside other serious issues relating to child welfare.
