Number of homeless children now over 3,000

A PARENT living in emergency accommodation has described feeling she has “failed as a mother” as it emerged that more than 3,000 children are homeless.

New figures show that 5,222 adults and 3,048 children are living in emergency accommodation, a total of 8,270.

June Tinsley, head of advocacy at Barnardos, said the experience of being homeless was “hugely detrimental” to a child’s wellbeing. The charity also told of the pain felt by families living in emergency accommodation.

“I cried for the first two weeks in there. I sobbed my heart out in the bathroom. It makes you feel like a failure as a mother,” said one woman living in emergency accommodation. “From a mother’s point of view, you look at your children and you think ‘I can’t even give you a home’,” she added.

“Walking by our old home – it kills me. The new people are in it now and it is getting all painted and it is heartbreaking to see it – that was our home,” another homeless parent said.

The number of homeless families nationally is up 13 to 1,442, but the figure in Dublin has fallen by 32. The Department of Housing says addressing homelessness remains a priority for the Government, with 1,800 exits into sustainable tenancies achieved in the first half of this year. “The opening of further family hubs in the coming weeks and months will further assist in meeting the needs of families in emergency accommodation,” it said.