Galway Simon Community has raised concerns as the number of people living in Emergency Accommodation in the West is rising almost 50% faster than the national rate, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
The continuing increase in the total number of people living in Emergency Accommodation in the West, is reflective of what they are seeing in their own services, which are “stretched to keep up with demand” from those who need their help.
The latest figures released by the Department showed 632 people, including 116 families with 239 children, were recorded as living in Emergency Accommodation in the West of Ireland at the end of May. The number of people increased by 20% over the previous 12 months, with the number of families increasing by 23%.
The charity has said that the lack of affordable accommodation is one of the factors driving the increase in homelessness. Galway Simon Community’s Homelessness Prevention Services help to prevent individuals and families from entering into emergency accommodation, as well as enabling people to move on from Galway Simon’s homeless services to live independently. One of the ways in which they do this is to provide people with supports to source affordable accommodation. However, the charity says this remains “extremely difficult” due to the lack of affordable accommodation available.
Karen Golden, CEO of Galway Simon Community said the current supply of housing and the rate of new housing coming on stream in Galway is inadequate, relative to demand across social, affordable and private housing.
“The consequence of this is the ongoing overreliance on the Private Rental Sector which we know is out of reach for many due to unaffordability. The most recent report from Daft.ie showed average rents at the end of March this year were €1,861 in Galway City, €1,471 in Galway County, €1,190 in Mayo and €1,195 in Roscommon. There is a particular shortage of one bed properties for single people and appropriate affordable accommodation for families also remains an issue,” she said.
“Government commitment to and investment in social and affordable housing across all accommodation types both locally and nationwide is critical. While we await the delivery of new homes, it’s vitally important that we continue to ensure that Prevention Services are supported so that we can prevent as many people as possible from sliding into Emergency Accommodation. We must remember that behind every one of these statistics are individuals and families experiencing the trauma and distress of homelessness”, Ms Golden said.
She said that Galway Simon is very conscious that the ongoing housing crisis and the extensive recent media coverage around it may be compounding the stress and anxiety for people who are worried about becoming homeless.
“We would encourage people who are worried or who may have received a Notice to Quit to seek support early by contacting us or one of the other agencies and we will work to support them in trying to find a solution. While it may take us a bit longer than normal to respond to people who do contact us due to the growing demand on our services, we want to assure them that Galway Simon Community is committed to preventing homelessness where possible, and believe that solutions are key to resolving this crisis. 93% of those who engaged with our Prevention Services during 2023 avoided having to access Emergency Accommodation,” she concluded.
