Homelessness has a huge effect on an individual’s physical and emotional health. Homeless men and women suffer from colds they cannot get rid of because they have no access to medicine, food and warm housing. They also are more at risk for dependency on drugs and alcohol and contracting HIV/AIDS. They suffer from vitamin deficiencies and often don’t get adequate sleep. Homeless people have no housing to protect them from physical violence and even rape. These can lead to emotional breakdowns which lead them to become institutionalised. They can begin to develop behavioural problems that could land them in front of the judge (Donnellan, 2004).
Every individual human has the right to the following needs: food and shelter, love, security and safety, praise and recognition and responsibility (Pringle, Mia K. 1993).
(Combat poverty, 2009) state “that in 2005 there were 2,399 homeless people in need of housing”. This shows that there is a need for more housing options, without good housing options homeless people are left to sleep in emergency accommodation or they might even have to jump from place to place to get by.
Lots of children leave home due to domestic violence, which leave them with no where to go and often end up homeless because of this. (Vostanis et el, 1999) These children need the basic needs as every individual does. They need to be put into care where they will be given the opportunity to training and education so they can lead a normal life.
Among all homeless people, the highest number of homeless is young people who have left care or other such institutions; this has increased from two to eight. (Kelleher et el, 2000) This shows that the problem is getting worse and that their needs are not been met. Follow on or after care should be put into place for young people when they leave care. After coming out of care young people need help finding their feet and steady accommodation.
A lot of homeless people are single adults. A survey found that in Dublin alone there were 1439 single homeless people, the majority been men. (Combat Poverty, 2009) These single adults needs are not been met are they are at greater risk of turning to drugs or alcohol. There needs to be more affordable housing for single people. At the moment a single person would find it very difficult to be accepted on the housing list because they have no children. There needs to be more one bedroom houses to meet their need for shelter, security and safety. Also they need more easy accessible treatment centres in the event of them having a drug or alcohol problem.
Families are another group who are left to face homelessness. “A survey carried out in Dublin found that there were 249 homeless families with children under eighteen 576 children in total”. (Combat Poverty, 2009) If a parent has no address, it’s hard for them to receive any social welfare benefits and they may also find it hard to get a job. Without any income it’s hard for them to support their families. There needs to be better community based services and affordable houses for people who are on a low income.
As highlighted throughout this essay there are a range of different needs that could be met to address the issue of homelessness in Ireland. One major need being the need for affordable housing as the price of housing increased since the Celtic Tiger. It seems the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. There is a major divide in classes between the upper and lower class and without affordable housing homelessness can be a vicious circle to get out of. (Bevan et el, 1997)
There are many different statutory and voluntary services available to people who are homeless. These services can include health care, social welfare, housing, training and education.
Statutory services are run by the government, services such as the health board, department of social and family affairs, county council housing schemes and more who aim to assist or help fund people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Voluntary services are a group of people who volunteer to help people need. The following list is a group of organisations who provide voluntary services such as the Simon Community, Focus Ireland, the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Hail, Samaritans and many more.
In this essay I am going to focus in more detail on the Simon Community and Focus Ireland.
Focus Ireland aim to help people find a safe place they can call home. They provide help and support to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Focus Ireland provide a number of services e.g. short term accommodation, transitional programmes, training and education programmes. They also support homeless people in finding and settling into long term accommodation with after care to ensure they can manage. This organisation also has a day centre where people can go to get off the streets and avail of low cost meals.
The Simon Community is another organisation that aims to get homeless people off the streets. They provide similar services to Focus Ireland. I particularly like this organisation because they go out onto the streets to find people that need help, they don’t sit and wait for people to come to them. They also provide a soup run everyday to people who are sleeping rough and they provide alcohol and detox treatment for their patients.
Bibliography
- Donnellan, C. (eds) (2004) Dealing with homelessness, Cambridge: Independence
- Vostanis, P. & Cumella, S. (eds) (1999) Homeless Children Problems and Needs, Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley
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Pringle, Mia K. 3rd (eds) (1993) The Needs of Children, London and New York: Routledge
- MacNeela, P. Homelessness in Galway, Galway: Galway Simon Community
- Kelleher, C. Kelleher, P. & McCarty, P. (1992) A Focus Point Research Study, Patterns of Hostels use in Dublin, Focus Point Ltd: Dublin
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Bevan, M. Rhodes, D. Burrows, R. Peace, N. & Quilgars, D. (1997) “Chapter 13: “The Capacity of the Private Rented Sector to House Homeless Households” 189-202, Routledge, 1997. (retrieved on 6th October 2009)
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Focus Ireland (2009) “ About Homelessness”, retrieved on 3rd October 2009 from
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Simon Community (2009) “services”, retrieved on 3rd October 2009 from