Mother and daughter, 3, living out of hotel room until charity stepped in

Roisin Fisher had no space to celebrate her daughter's birthday before Novas secured a home for her

Roisin Fisher, (24), Shannon, Co Clare, who along with her young daughter, was rescued from homelessness by the Novas charity which has published its annual report. Roisin is pictured outside a two bedroom home in Shannon secured for her by Novas. Pictured supplied by Novas

Roisin Fisher and her three-year-old daughter were living out of a hotel room until Limerick housing charity Novas rescued them from a homeless nightmare.

They found it difficult to wash or celebrate a birthday in their hotel bunker, before their lives were transformed by the charity.

The "kindness" shown to her by the charity kept her going through the toughest times, the 24-year-old from Clare said. On March 27, she moved into a two-bedroom home, secured for her by Novas.

Her desperate plea for a home to call her own was one of 5,263 cases which Novas handled last year, the largest number of people it has ever helped since forming almost two decades ago.

For the second successive year, the organisation provided support to more than 1,000 children. It helped a total of 358 families in Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Clare, Tipperary and Dublin, providing some 13,000 meals to help those on the margins through its street outreach team.

'Hidden homelessness' in West Cork

Warning of the issue of homelessness throughout the region, Dr Una Burns, the charity's head of policy and communications, said there is a growing problem of rural homelessness, particularly in the Munster hinterlands.

“For example, in west Cork, referrals for our tenancy sustainment service increased by 405% in the last five years and in Tipperary we could only meet 14% of demand during 2019," Dr Burns said.

Beyond urban centres, the problem is widespread but “often hidden”.

From Bandon to Mizen Head, to the Beara Peninsula, a “record number” of people were supported by Novas.

“Homelessness in West Cork is a hidden issue”, she said, with “many people not counted in the official statistics due to domestic violence, couch surfing, substandard accommodation, hospital stays and direct provision”.

The majority (61%) of all those who accused the service in 2019 were women.

Increasing rents, a lack of accommodation and an increasing number of properties moving to the short-term holiday rental market are all playing a role, Novas' annual report says.

People “sofa surfing or living in precarious, unreliable and unsustainable accommodation” is a recurring problem.

In Limerick, a family support unit worked with 221 families who were homeless and living in emergency accommodation, or at risk from homelessness, while an out-of-hours service in the city welcomed '850 presentations' last year.

“There is an urgent need for additional one-bed units in the city as traditionally single men spend protracted periods of time in homeless accommodation,” Dr Burns said.

Some “50% of all applications on the social housing waiting list in the city are single adults”.

“We need smaller units,” Burns added.

The coronavirus pandemic has curtailed services, including face-to-face meetings between clients and key workers.