Homelessness figures the highest on record in North West

The highest number ever of homeless adults and children has been recorded in the North West region, according to recent Government figures.  

There has been a staggering 85% increase in homelessness in the North West region since May 2022. There has also been  a 26% increase in child homelessness since last month. These statistics represent the highest number of individuals ever recorded as homeless and also the highest number ever of children in emergency accommodation, in the region.

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Government figures which show that the three local authorities in the North West region provided emergency accommodation to 170 individuals during the last week of May 2023. 

CEO of North West Simon Community, Noel Daly described the rise as appalling: “It is truly appalling that homelessness continues to increase at the level it has in the north west. You have an eighty-five percent increase in homelessness since May 2022. And, the numbers are continuously rising and they have done so since 2016 and it doesn’t have to be this way.”

He said that no child should have to live in emergency accommodation and everything that can be done should prevent children having to live in this manner. 

North West Simon Community’s Housing Information and Tenancy Service provided support to 84 households at risk of or experiencing homelessness in Leitrim in 2022, and they expect a similar number of households to seek support across the county during 2023. They say the demand for services in counties Donegal and Sligo is equally strong and with significant deficiencies in the availability of affordable housing in each county, new measures to halt people’s progression into homelessness are urgently needed, they say.

Nationally there were 12,441 people living in Local Authority managed emergency accommodation in the last week of May 2023. This latest figure represents a 51.49% increase in the number of people homeless, since Housing for All, the Government’s national strategy on housing was published in September 2021, and highlights the need for additional measures to be developed to respond to homelessness.

Noel Daly points out that the Monthly Homeless Reports published by the Government relate only to individuals and families provided with emergency accommodation by the local authorities. They do not include households frequently described as the hidden homeless - people and families sleeping rough, living in cars and tents, sofa surfing, escaping domestic violence in refuges, sharing with parents, family, and friends, and/or living in houses unfit for habitation.

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A Homeless Action Plan was approved by the Local Authorities in the region in March of this year and we must now see the speedy implementation of all aspects of the Action Plan to help stem the flow of people into homelessness, Mr Daly said.