The homelessness crisis will get “a hell of a lot worse” in 2020, according to Inner City Helping Homeless.
It’s calling for the government and for the under-fire Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to immediately inform the public how many people will be homeless over Christmas.
The Department of Housing revealed 3,826 children accessed emergency accomodation in October, with November’s figures yet to be published.
Inner City Helping Homeless says it’s unacceptable that the number of children and adults who will spend Christmas in emergency accommodation is yet to be revealed.
The latest figures from the Department of Housing show there were 10,514 people in emergency accommodation in October, with the November figures yet to be released.
CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless, Anthony Flynn, believes things are going to get worse before they get better ”Oh I think we’re going to see the problem getting a hell of lot worse before it does better, as I said continues wise in the amount of people that are living in poverty, the amount of people that are in emergency accomodation. That’s been consistant and there’s a consistent trend in that over the last nearly two years or more. The crisis is definitely going to worsen before it gets better but the minister needs to be honest and he needs to be honest with the public in terms of how many people are actually in emergency accomodation.”
He added: ”We’re two days before Christmas and the Minister has failed to release the figures in terms of homelessness for last month. What we’re going to see is over 4,000 children in emergency accomodation. The Minister hasn’t confirmed the amount of children or adults that are going to be in emergency accomodation throughout the Christmas period. I suppose the Minister has been in continuous denial in terms of the extent of the problem and how many children and adults are going to be in homelessness through the Christmas peiod.”
