Second lockdown warning on homelessness
DUNDALK Simon Community has responded to the latest Homelessness figures with a stark reminder that most of the 111 people recorded as homeless in Louth, Cavan and Monaghan this September are in a second lockdown in emergency accommodation.
According to the report, released last week by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, those recorded in emergency accommodation in the North East in September included: 102 total adults, 96 single people, five families and nine children.
Simon Community CEO Sam McGuinness said: ‘Since the first lockdown in March 2020, we have seen a decrease in the number of families in emergency accommodation in Louth, Cavan & Monaghan. While we strongly welcome this drop and acknowledge the positive steps taken by the Minister for Housing to re-introduce the ban on evictions during Level 5, unfortunately, the number of single people stuck in emergency accommodation has continued to rise over the same period.’
He added: ‘Since March, while there are 29 less people in North-East emergency accommodation, the remainder, 111, have not moved on to a home of their own and are lodged in a bottlenecked system. They have remained in some version of the same shared accommodation, cut off from friends and family and are now entering the second lockdown.’
Senior Manager for Emergency Services Claire McSweeney added: ‘Emergency accommodation is not a home. It’s busy and challenging and to facilitate social distancing, many clients are having to spend a lot of time in their rooms. Since March, across our services, we have been creative in how we deliver necessary supports and keep clients engaged and entertained.’
‘We all know this lockdown is different. The sense of pandemic fatigue and mental stress affecting wider society is completely heightened as people remain isolated and anxious in emergency accommodation. While we have had successful move-ons over the last seven months, we need more accommodation options for couples and singles and we need them now.’
The Simon Community provides services to almost 7,500 people in, Louth, Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow Dublin, Meath, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.