As we begin a new year, Galway Simon Community remains deeply concerned about the housing and homelessness crisis, with their Services continuing to be very stretched to provide supports to the number of people coming to it in crisis, seeking help.
The most recent figures published by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government report 555 people staying or living in Emergency Accommodation in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon in November 2022. The figures represent a 3% increase in the number of people in Emergency Accommodation in the West between November 2021 and 2022, significantly lower than the 27% increase nationally.
The situation continues to be extremely challenging. There are many factors influencing these figures and it is disappointing to see them going in the wrong direction. She believes that Galway Simon’s Prevention Services are having a significant positive impact. Between January and November last year, our Prevention Services supported 574 households, including 205 families with 432 children. Over 90% of the households supported by our Prevention Team last year did not access Emergency Accommodation.
In some areas we saw a very welcome decrease in the number of people in Emergency Accommodation. The number of young adults (18-24 ) in Emergency Accommodation dropped by 7% to 63 in the West, while nationally youth homelessness increased by 23%. Galway Simon’s dedicated Youth Service supported over 70 young adults to the end of November last year. We welcome the Department of Housing’s publication of the new Youth Homelessness Strategy last November. We’d like to acknowledge the courage of a number of our clients who provided valuable inputs during the Strategy development.
Shocking statistic
Family homelessness, which saw a 32% year on year increase, continues to be particularly challenging. This is a shocking statistic. It was very distressing to see 104 families with 225 children in Emergency Accommodation in the West in November. No child should be homeless. We are deeply aware that the trauma of homelessness can be particularly acute around Christmas and that the impact of homelessness can last a lifetime.”
Housing demand continues to outstrip supply in the West. The Simon Communities of Ireland most recent Locked Out of the Market Report published this week showed that there were no properties available to rent in Galway in December under the HAP limits.
While landlords continue to exit the private rental market (the Society of Chartered Surveyors reported this week that 40% of property sales in the final three months of last year involved landlords selling their investment properties ), Karen is hopeful that new homes being delivered in 2023 will ease some of the pressure.
It is critical that the period of the moratorium on evictions is used wisely. The moratorium was a least ‘worst’ option this Winter and without it the situation would inevitably have been even worse as we come into 2023. The government must now do everything possible to ensure we address the root causes of homelessness. We need to increase supply by bringing more social, affordable and private housing on stream through a combination of new builds and addressing dereliction and vacancy.”
In addition to those supported by our Prevention Services, 197 households were accommodated in Galway Simon’s Emergency Service and other Services such as Housing First in the first eleven months of last year. We can see the enormous positive impact of our work, and while the homelessness crisis remains hugely challenging here in the West, we will continue to be here for those who need us, with the help of everyone in the wider Community who supports Galway Simon’s work.
On behalf of all of us in Galway Simon, I would like to express our deep gratitude to people across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon who supported our work throughout 2022 and enabled us to prevent many individuals and families from experiencing the trauma of homelessness.
With the support of funders, donors, volunteers and supporters, Galway Simon supported 771 Households, including 1,298 people, between January and November 2022. To all of those who enabled us to support people experiencing and at risk of homelessness here in the West throughout the year, we are beyond grateful.
