‘Tents are not a solution to homelessness’ says charity

TENTS will continue to be provided to homeless people in the wake of a tragic incident where a homeless man was badly injured while sleeping in a tent, said a charity chief.

The Inner City Helping Homeless charity continues to provide 10 to 20 tents a week to homeless people who request them, said the charity’s co-founder Anthony Flynn.

His comment follows a statement by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, which operates on behalf of the four local authorities in Dublin, which warned that tents are “not a safe solution” to homelessness.

Mr Flynn said his charity was certainly not advocating for the use of tents as a solution to homelessness.

“We don’t want people living in tents. It’s not something we would advocate. But the current system is a disorderly one… Many people feel unsafe in hostels because of substance abuse and other issues in hostels. We will carry on giving out tents when requested,” he said.

The statements come in the wake of the horrific accident earlier this month on the banks of the Grand Canal when a homeless man received serious injuries when his collapsed tent was being removed by a machine.

The 30-year-old man, who suffered massive spinal injuries, remains in serious condition at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin. The Dublin Region Homeless Executive

(DRHE), led by Dublin City Council, said its staff who work directly with the homeless were “deeply shocked and distressed by what occurred”.

The use of tents by homeless people — generally for accommodation purposes — is not deemed to be safe nor satisfactory, said a DRHE spokesperson.

In a statement to the Sunday Independent, the DRHE spokesperson said: “The DRHE, through their Outreach Teams, are actively engaging with individuals who are sleeping rough in tents to encourage them to accept available emergency accommodation.

“Our thoughts are very much with the man who was seriously injured in the incident that occurred last week.”