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Focus Ireland Annual Report Launch

(26 Apr 2012)

Focus Ireland launches Annual Report 2011 which reveals a rise of nearly 15% in the numbers benefitting from the charity’s vital support services since 2010

• Focus Ireland calls for Government to set a national target of 1,600 units per year - specifically for people who are homeless - to help end long-term homelessness by end of 2013

• New survey finds that 85% agree that empty houses under NAMA should be available - at a reasonable rent - to people who are homeless

FOCUS IRELAND launched its 2011 Annual Report in Dublin today as the charity reported a rise of nearly 15% in the number of people who benefitted from its support services last year. A total of 7,459 people benefitted from the charity’s support & prevention services in 2011 compared to 6,500 people in 2010.

The charity also confirmed a sharp rise of 39% in the number of people using its Advice & Information services in Dublin from 1,800 to 2,500 last year as Focus Ireland increased its role in helping to prevent people who run into housing difficulties from becoming homeless. Focus Ireland warned that some homeless support services are now stretched as the number of people seeking support continues to rise due to the ongoing impact of the recession.
 

Focus Ireland CEO Joyce Loughnan said: “The good news is we supported just over 300 households (who were homeless or at risk) to secure a home last year though our tenancy support & settlement services and housing programmes. We could have helped more but the continued failure by the State to provide access to housing is keeping many people trapped as homeless in expensive emergency accommodation even though they are ready to move on.”

“It would actually save the State money to provide mainstream housing with support as opposed to emergency beds. It would also save a lot of hardship for families and single people who are going through a terrible time by providing them with the security of a home.”

Focus Ireland said the agreed strategy to tackle homelessness in recent years was to reduce the level of homeless emergency services and transfer resources to help people to secure a home and settle in the community. However, this approach is failing due to the State not providing access to the required housing. The Annual Report was launched by Minister for Housing & Planning Jan O’Sullivan in Buswell’s Hotel in Dublin. Focus Ireland said it welcomed the Minister’s recent comments that called for “a renewed focus on the scandal of homelessness that is targeted at long-term housing solutions.”

Focus Ireland has contributed to the Government’s review of the current Homeless Strategy which is due to be published soon. The previous Government’s National Homeless Strategy had a deadline of ending long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough by the end of 2010 but this was not achieved due to failure to deliver housing.

Focus Ireland has called for the Government to include a new deadline of the end of 2013 (to end long-term homelessness) in the revised strategy. The charity stressed that with the right mix of preventative, housing and support strategies, Ireland can meet this deadline.

However, Focus Ireland’s Founder and Life President Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy warned that with a rising number of people at risk of losing their homes there will be a deepening homeless crisis in the coming years unless decisive action is urgently taken. She said that cuts to Rent Supplement is causing some people to become homeless and blocking a route out of homelessness for others.

Sr. Stan said: “This problem has been made worse by the rent supplement system which sees people actually being forced into homelessness before they can gain access to this payment which is meant to be a key safety net. Our staff see people deteriorate before their eyes each week they are homeless. We support them as best we can but being homeless still causes terrible damage to families and single people.”

Sr. Stan spoke at the launch of one such case where a man currently using Focus Ireland’s services “was telling us that he had never been out of work a day in his life. Then he lost his job before Christmas, his relationship had broken up and he became homeless as he couldn’t get access to rent supplement due to a long delay. His story shows the human face behind these policy failures.”  “In some ways we are almost witnessing a return to the values of the Poor Law times in Ireland, where only a person must be completely destitute before they get any help, and when they do, they are expected to live in conditions unacceptable for others in society. I hope the Minister will address both these issues in the coming months.”

Focus Ireland also called on the Government to set a national target of 1,600 units to be provided (For both 2012 and 2013) specifically for people who are homeless. Joyce Loughnan said: “There is a target set by the Dublin Homeless Region Executive of 900 units to be provided in Dublin for this year. There also needs to be a target of another 700 units set for the rest of the country if we are to achieve the aim of ending long-term homelessness by the end of 2013.”

Focus Ireland added that it is vital for the Government to ensure that NAMA delivers a real social dividend and plays a key role in solving homelessness. There is widespread support for this approach as a survey carried out for Focus Ireland by Amarach Research found that 85% of the public agree that “Empty houses under NAMA should be made available for use, at a reasonable rent, to individual and families who are homeless. (*8% of people disagreed.) ” The survey carried out with just over 1,000 people nationwide. There are up to 5,000 people who are homeless at any one time. A small number sleep rough while the vast majority stay in emergency accommodation including hostels and B&Bs.

To view Focus Ireland’s Annual Report 2011 go to www.focusireland.ie
 



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