Only six beds for homeless women

ONLY six beds are available to homeless women in the south-east region.

With more than 400 people homeless in the south-east, 140 emergency hostel beds are available to men and six for women, according to a report.

The number of homeless people has risen by 40% from five years ago, while many have been waiting on local authority housing lists for seven years or more. And half of those either sleeping rough or in sheltered accommodation are concentrated in the Waterford area, the South East Simon Community commissioned report shows.

The biggest increases in homelessness over the past five years have been in south Tipperary, Wexford and Kilkenny. Mental health issues, leaving prison and anti-social behaviour are the main reasons cited for homelessness, the study found. Simon Community regional development officer Chris Anderson said it is almost impossible to tally exactly how many are homeless. However, he described the figures as significant and worrying.

“The rise is not due to a lack of funding on the Government’s part to tackle the problem. The Government has invested a significant amount of funding resources towards addressing homelessness.

“Whilst there is a need for emergency accommodation and always will be to some extent, there is also a need to develop services to help people who are experiencing homelessness to move on from hostel accommodation into their own homes.”

The report says Simon should concentrate on five main priority areas - permanent housing for single people, outreach work, housing with support, settlement support services and research/training in best practice.

Even though responsibility for the provision of services to homeless people rests with the statutory authorities, the majority of services to homeless people in the south-east is provided for by voluntary sector organisations.

There are 140 emergency hostel bed spaces for men and six bed spaces for women across five providers in the south-east. There is also a network of refuges, in every county except Carlow, some transitional accommodation in Waterford and some limited outreach and settlement support services.

The report said heavy use is made of the private rented sector as a housing option.

The report highlights a number of priorities for the future, including providing more long-term, self-contained housing for the homeless. There is a particular lack of action on accommodation options for single people.