Dublin Simon Community demands proactive approach to turn the tide on homelessness

• Charity challenges next Government to tackle the underlying issues driving the homelessness crisis
• In a statement made in response to May 2020 Homelessness Report it urges no going back to the way things were before Covid-19

Dublin, 25th June 2020: Dublin Simon Community has responded to the May 2020 Homelessness report with a challenge to the next Government to tackle the underlying issues driving the homelessness crisis.

CEO of Dublin Simon Community, Sam McGuinness said: “While we welcome the reduction in figures there can be:

• No going back to the circumstances that have driven the current homelessness crisis
• No going back to overcrowded emergency accommodation,
• No going back to using hotels to shelter families
• No going back to indiscriminate evictions
• No going back to shortages of one-bedroom accommodation
• No going back to transitional housing and short-term leases

He added: “We need to see a creative and proactive approach from the next Government that will turn the housing crisis around and make homelessness an exception rather than the norm.  Otherwise, the coming economic storm will deliver a crisis of unimaginable proportions on our streets and create a generation of interrupted lives.

“We urgently need to take the lessons learned over the past few months on board and build on the success of our partnerships with other NGOs and Government bodies in delivering permanent housing solutions to the most vulnerable in society.”

According to the May report,

• 6,229 people accessed emergency accommodation in Dublin in May 2020 a 13% decrease from May 2019 (7,138).
• 893 Dublin families accessed emergency accommodation in May 2020, a 30% decrease from 1,275 in May 2019
• 2,545 singles accessed emergency accommodation in May 2020, a decrease of 11% from 2,855 in May 2019