Rise in single homeless in Kildare and Dublin
Over 130 adults homeless in Kildare in December
Dublin Simon Community, which serves Kildare, says the alarming rise in numbers of single people entering homelessness is being overshadowed by an overall reduction in homelessness figures.
This comes as the December 2020 Homeless Report was released today by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage.
According to the report, 6,022 people were recorded in Dublin emergency accommodation in December 2020. This represents an 11.7% decrease on December 2019, which Dublin Simon welcomed and attributed to the strong collaboration between local authorities, agencies, and NGO partners over the last 12 months.
But it says, however, that single homelessness has risen by 17% over the same period.
In the Mid-East region of Kildare, Wicklow & Meath, a total of 437 people were recorded in emergency accommodation during December, including 310 adults, 127 children & 53 families.
Among these were 135 total adults in Kildare, 149 total adults in Meath & 26 total adults in Wicklow.
Reflecting on the past year, Dublin Simon Community CEO Sam McGuinness said: “On the face of it, we are in a better position now than we were a year ago. The numbers are going down, which is a huge achievement considering the tremendous adversity the sector has faced over the past year.
He added: “The story of 2020 can be understood in three parts. Family homelessness has reduced, rough sleeping has reduced but single homelessness remains frustratingly high. The bottom line remains that there are still more single people presenting as newly homeless each day than there are moving out of the bulging emergency system and into long-term accommodation. This has to change, and we must make it our urgent priority for 2021.”
The Simon Community provides services to over 7,600 people in, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath, Dublin, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
In the “Mid-East” region of Kildare, Wicklow & Meath, it works in partnership with the Kildare, Wicklow and Meath County Councils to provide: outreach support to people who are rough sleeping, emergency accommodation for those with nowhere else to go, long-term supported accommodation for those who need support to live independently, tenancy support to prevent falling into homelessness, resettlement services for people moving out of homelessness and into a home of their own and long-term independent homes to over 80 families and singles