Special report: Time to end the ‘national shame’ of child homelessness
Kasey Earley (10), above with her mam, Jodie Murray, illustrated the front and back cover of 'Homeless Stories: What is lockdown like without a home?' and also wrote about her experience of living in emergency accommodation with her mam and little sister during the Covid-19 lockdown. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan
In 2015, a total of 880 children were registered as homeless in Ireland at Christmas. The latest figures for 2020 reveal that number now stands at 2,642.
That increase is cited as the primary motivation behind the publication of a new book highlighting the personal accounts of 20 children who have been living with homelessness during the Covid crisis.
The Chief Executives of the homeless support charity DePaul, David Carrol, and Irish schools publishing company Emu Ink, Emer Cleary, said they hoped would help edge Irish society towards finally confronting and addressing the issue.
An issue, Ms Cleary, described starkly as a continuing “national shame”.
“I first had the idea for this book over a year ago, after reading a newspaper article about children living in homelessness and the effort that their parents were making to give them a proper Christmas.
“It wasn't until the summer of 2020, however, that I approached DePaul about it and the team there was very enthusiastic about the project."
“We are immensely proud of every child featured in . To share these insightful pieces is an incredibly brave and powerful thing to do and the proceeds are going to an amazing charity.”
Ms Cleary — the driving force behind the Dublin-based independent publishing house — said she also hoped all in government, and all those in a position to truly address the root causes of homelessness in Ireland, would simply read the stories of the children themselves.
“The book itself is the message that every government minister needs to take on board.
“The very idea that children are experiencing homelessness in this day and age is a national shame and nothing shows that more than the work of these children.”
That is certainly an assessment shared by the man leading up the charity who will benefit from all the proceeds raised by the book, David Carroll.
Pointing to the latest homeless figures the DePaul CEO acknowledged that while the latest figure of 2,642 children living in homelessness was depressing in its own right, it had to be noted this represented a 25% decrease since the Covid crisis began in March.
“Care needs to be taken, however, that any improvements gained over the last number of months are maintained.
“That figure could increase with the lifting of the eviction ban which had been reintroduced in line with Covid restrictions. We also need to maintain the momentum in relation to the provision of new social house building for families.
“If we go back as far as 2015 there were only 880 children homeless in Ireland, that is a 200% increase in a five-year period.”
Asked to put those figures in a European or global context Mr Carroll — whose charity provides vital accommodation and community supports for vulnerable families who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness — said it was hard to compare the homeless problem in statistical terms.
“There are clear disparities between how Ireland measures homeless and say, how Germany measures homelessness."
“What I would say is homelessness in Ireland has grown dramatically over the last decade where all socio-economic groups are vulnerable to becoming homelessness.”
The charity chief executive admitted the reasons for this growing problem throughout society was complex and involved a number of causes including growing rental prices, poverty, breakdowns in family structures and a lack of adequate housing.
Pointing to the complexity of those causes Mr Carroll encouraged the government and wider society to work collectively and deliver a variety of housing-led solutions on a large scale.
“That means delivering housing across all areas be it affordable, social, and affordable rental properties.
“We would urge even further investment into the provision of social housing and a resolution into how public lands can be utilised most effectively for the provision of affordable housing, particularly social housing.
Mr Carroll said he hoped the same resolve and financial supports shown in response to the Covid-19 crisis would be seen in 2021 and 2022 to solve the housing and homelessness crisis.
“We cannot allow social housing investment to be affected if there is a downturn in the economic health of the country due to Covid-19 in 2021 and 2022.
“It is estimated that we need to deliver between 30,000 and 40,000 homes each year to meet the demand in our country and this needs to be the target for the government over the next decade.”
If that resolve is missing, what did he feel were the long term implications for society?
“In a word, stark. We know from our work with families and young children, in particular, of the impact homelessness can have. This is true in all areas, self-esteem, self-worth, growth, education and development,£ said Mr Carroll.
Reflecting on those stark implications both Ms Cleary and Mr Carrol were at one on what would be the ideal Christmas gift for these children.
“I would say a home of their own,” Mr Carrol begins.
“The stories in this book highlight how difficult the last year, in particular, has been for children in homelessness. It’s a small glimpse into the reality of their lives but also their hopes for their own future.
“I hope that they can move away from homelessness as soon as possible and that next year will bring a place they can call home. Where they can feel safe and focus on the things children should be focusing on like education, sport and friendship.”
Ms Cleary is a little more succinct.
“They just want a front door to close behind them at night. Somewhere to call home.”
"One day I came to Globe House with my mother and sister. We were not allowed to go in our room and I was not allowed to play with my best friends, I missed them so much.
"Sadly, my uncle passed away because of lung cancer in Botswana where I am from. I was crying for one hour and my mother’s friend bought me McDonald’s. It was not a good day for my family.
"We had to go to Dublin for two weeks for us to come back and stay in our room in Globe House. In Dublin it was not fun because we were not allowed to go to the store.
"They were checking our temperature every day. There was only a vending machine and my mom and sister used to buy me snacks.
"After two weeks, my family and I got into a taxi and we came to Globe House. It was a good ride and I slept all the way. Everyone was wearing a mask and gloves and Globe House was very quiet."
"I can’t stand putting on a mask because I can’t breathe, plus my mom is looking for a house so that we can stay with my dad and my dog. I hope we get the house and move out of Globe House."
"Once back in our room, I had no space to play or have any fun and even when I tried to play with my toys my little brother would wreck them. This made my heart very sad.
"My teacher sent me some new books. This cheered me up because I love to read.
"Some days my mum let me ring my friends. They had all been busy making new foods and cakes."
"I was very afraid of Covid-19. I am still afraid but because we are back in school, I don’t think about it as much. We still don’t have our own home yet, but I am so happy to be not stuck in the room every day.”
“When we first moved into the hotel I didn’t know anyone so I didn’t play on the landing. My mammy made a friend and her daughter asked if I wanted to play in her room and I said yes and since then we are best friends.
"She moved out in April 2020, now I can’t play out anymore. I loved having a friend in the hotel because it made the time go quickly and I didn’t feel alone.
"Our room has a double and single bed, a wardrobe and some shelves. We have stuff everywhere.
"There are storage boxes under the beds and in the bathroom. I can’t do make-up unless I lock myself in the bathroom because my little sister tries to get at it.
"All my toys are in my nanny’s attic. I can’t wait to take them down and play again. I have a few teddies on my bed and my favourite blanket."
"Living in Direct Provision is very difficult not just for myself and my family, but for other families as well. This is largely so because of the circumstances in which we live.
"In the environment of direct provision most people do not have legal status and that often means that people already have the stress of not knowing the fate of their families.
"This can be very difficult for us as children, not knowing exactly what our parents are going through. As children, we often don’t have our own spaces such as our own rooms."
"With such an environment, the lockdown was very difficult for me. I am in secondary school and share a small room with my older brother.
"During the lockdown, all schools were closed and we were all at home. The only playground in Mosney was closed.
"The managers in Mosney did not want people to just play around because they were doing everything to protect everybody from getting the Covid-19. Without computers and wifi, we had very little to do as a family.
"I could not study even when I wanted to do so in my bed because I have three siblings and there was always noise in the house. The few play games we had in the house, we all became fed up with them.
"Our television only had the main channels and there was little to watch on it. When I even wanted to watch the television, my mother and sometimes my siblings may be watching something else.
"My little sister always wanted to watch her television shows. Sometimes, we quarrelled over what channel and programme to watch."
"Since Covid-19 is here, it’s spoiled my sisters first birthday and my tenth birthday which I was excited about.
"During Lockdown 2020 I had a mixture of emotions. I felt sad, angry and bored."
"I am enjoying being back at school because I can see my friends and play with them.
"I’m excited for 2021, hopefully it will be a good year because we will know how to handle covid-19 better and stay safe.
"I also can’t wait to get our new house so I can have my own room and our own garden to play in."
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