Homelessness in Kerry soars by 52% in single year

Focus Ireland Life President & Founder Sr Stanislaus Kennedy writes about the deepening housing and homelessness crisis and asks Kerryman readers to support Focus Ireland’s urgent Christmas appeal. The Lispole native also talks about the particular challenges facing people in her native Kingdom

WE can all take home for granted a lot of the time. But deep down we all know what it means.

Our home is the foundation stone of our personal and family life. It is where we can relax after a long day. It’s where we belong and feel safe.

The sad reality is that homelessness is no longer just a Dublin issue, even my own county is facing the crisis. The total number of adults who are officially homeless in Kerry has increased from103to157(ariseof52%in just one year) according to recent figures from the Department of Housing.

The number of families who are homeless in the South-West region (Cork and Kerry) has also risen to 124 families compared to 116 twelve months ago, including 288 children.

The harsh fact is that three families will lose their home in Ireland every day. It is truly shocking there’s now a record total of 10,397 people homeless. Nearly 4,000 of these are children. While the numbers are highest in Dublin this is a national crisis. A total of nearly 500 families and over 1,000 children are homeless nationwide outside of the capital city.

The Government’s response has been that it takes time to end this crisis. These children don’t have time.

They are damaged every day while homeless.

Focus Ireland does not stand on the side-lines, we make a difference.

In partnership with the State and our supporters, we helped over 1,200 families to escape from homelessness and to secure a home in the last two years.

However, the sheer scale of the housing and homelessness crisis means that the number of people homeless continues to rise despite this great work.

In all my years I did not ever think that things could get worse

Lispole native Sr Stanislaus Kennedy but they sadly have done. It is truly awful that we are now seeing more babies being born into homelessness.

Families and individuals are losing their homes as they can’t afford to pay the rent or the house is being sold or repossessed.

They have been called “The New Homeless”. That is the people who become homeless for purely economic reasons.

Many families who are homeless are squeezed into hotel rooms across Kerry – 5 or 6 people in one room, nowhere to cook or for children to play. It would break your heart to see where these children are forced to live.

The housing crisis in Kerry has continued especially in the last 12 months as rents are now comparable with Dublin prices.

One of the reasons for the high number of adults who are homeless nationwide is that demand is completely outweighing supply and the fact that Rent Pressures Zones are being ignored by many landlords.

The lack of one bed bedroom apartments is also a serious contributor to the number of adults who are homeless in Kerry, particularly single people. An offset of the crisis in the city is that many individuals and families are now being forced out of the larger towns such as Tralee and Killarney, to the many surrounding villages.

Focus Ireland believes that as a country we have a duty to look after all our citizens, especially those who are most vulnerable. We must cherish all of our children equally and ensure that no child suffers from being homeless.

We work hard to do this as we continue to develop realistic policy solutions to help end homelessness. Focus Ireland also work through our services across the country so we are there when people need us the most. This amazing work is done in partnership with the State, as well as through kind support from our generous donors. In light of the recent homeless stats Focus Ireland are hoping to expand our services to Kerry as we believe we can also make a difference here too.

The current situation is that wehavetoraiseover40%ofour annual budget through fundraising and donations to keep our services going.

This means we really need public support now more than ever so we can be there when families and individuals need help the most.

I am asking the people of Kerry to please give what they can afford to support our urgent Christmas appeal. A total of 89 cents from every euro is spent directly on our vital work to combat and prevent homelessness.

People can donate at www. focusireland.ie or 1850 204 205.

Our work will continue with your kind support because this crisis must be ended.

Everyone deserves to have a place that they can call home.