‘Challenging year’ sees 13% rise in homeless seeking help

A “VERY challenging year” has seen a 13% jump in the amount of people getting help from homeless charity Focus Ireland.

Over 220 households managed to secure a home so far in 2008, as demand for support continues to grow, while the total amount of people given assistance was 6,000 between January and October — compared to 5,300 during the same period last year.

Much of the work done by Focus Ireland is aimed at preventing at-risk people from becoming homeless.