‘New homeless’ are among 18,000 referrals in first year of night cafe
The Merchant’s Quay Night Cafe in Dublin opened on January 21 last year and figures until the end of 2015 show that while almost 90% of users entered homelessness due to substance abuse issues or mental health difficulties, around one in 10 are among the ‘new homeless’, who have been priced out of rental accommodation in the capital.
Brenda Kane, the Merchants Quay Ireland Night Cafe project manager, said some clients are holding down jobs while using the service, which they see as a “stop-gap” until they can secure a rental property.
The figures from the night cafe — which does not have beds but which allows clients to sleep on mats — had 1,972 unique users in 2015 and 18,375 total referrals to the service, resulting in 16,104 allocations. Many of those clients are repeat users. In December, for example, 17 people spent more than half of all the nights in the calendar month at the night cafe.
The capacity of the cafe when it first opened its doors was 50, but that was expanded to 65 for the annual cold weather initiative, which continues until the end of April.
Ms Kane said the cafe has been operating at close to or at full capacity for much of the first year, with some drop-off in demand during the summer months and Christmas. In the first week of February this year, it had 385 visits, or 55 a night.
The cafe is limited to single people aged over 18, so does not cater for families.
The figures show that to the end of last year, 88% of the clients that stayed at the night cafe were male. The vast majority of those using the service were aged 25 to 45, while 12% of those who used it were under 25, and the same percentage were aged over 50.
Just under two thirds of all clients were Irish, while 15% were European and 20% were non-EU nationals.
The complex needs of those using the service were highlighted by the high number of people who were also availing of other support services offered by the Merchant’s Quay Night Cafe.
For example, 92% of those who used the cafe were also engaging with food and medical services, while 87% were engaging with case-management services, assisting them with accommodation applications, social welfare payments, or applying for a medical card. However, a smaller number of people have found accessed services including the night cafe because of a struggle to source accommodation in the rental market.
Ms Kane said: “We do have a new breed of homeless. We do have some people presenting who are employed and using this as a stop-gap.”
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is backing the night cafe and has assured the Merchant’s Quay Night Cafe that it will be funded up to the end of this year.
Hidden homelessness: 3
