Figures reveal 225 people are homeless in Tipperary

The number of people presenting as homeless in Tipperary has dropped from 375 in 2017 to 225 in 2018, according to figures released by Tipperary County Council this week.

However, despite the numbers, and with the council forced to seek accommodation for those presenting in emergency situations, homeless victims are being sent to other counties to be catered for, as there is no hostel provision in The Premier County.

And, there is no prospect of getting any hostel provision either.

Council official Sean Lonergan gave a comprehensive rundown of the homeless scenario to members of Tipperary County Council at the February meeting and the starkness of the figures shocked many members, though they also acknowledged the huge work being undertaken by the local authority in very difficult circumstances.

Relationships breakdown is the most prevalent cause of homelessness according to the figures, while an inability to secure private rented accommodation is also high on the list.

However, substance misuse remains extremely high amongst those who are homeless, with single males representing the highest sector of those on the list at the present time. And, 50% of those who are classed as homeless are repeat presentations, Mr Lonergan said.

The council, at the time of the meeting, had 32 people in emergency accommodation - the lowest in the region - and in 2018, a sum of €410,000 had been spent on bed and breakfast accommodation for those presenting as homeless.

However, in answering a query from Councillor Kieran Bourke (Fianna Fail), Mr Lonergan said that there is no hostel accommodation in Tipperary and there will not be any in the foreseable future either.

“We are being encouraged to use every suite of option we can come up with in Tipperary and in other counties as well, but we do not have any hostel and we don't have an prospect of getting one either. Government policy suggests that we should look at every other option rather than hostel accomodation - that simply goes against government policy, so it will not be entertained,” he informed Cllr Bourke.

Tipperary County Council has to deal with two different regions when it comes to homelessness - the mid west and the south east - and this makes for a complicated process.

One of the aims therefore is to bring a same approach to both regions and this will be one of the challenges for the housing section of the council as they begin the process of enacting their plan of action.

The breakdown of north and south is interesting too with south Tipperary having more homeless presentations in 2017 at 194, while north Tipperary had 181.

However, within a year, south Tipperary had reduced this number to 109, while north Tipperary had 116.

“In this county we boast all the time about how big a local authority we are following the amalgamation of north and south.

And yet, here we are depending on other counties to accommodate our homeless people because we don't have an emergency hostel where we can look after people. I think that is all wrong and should be looked at very seriously,” Cllr Bourke said.

The Tipperary Homeless Action team (THAT) - a multi disciplinary team which provides an interagency approach to those who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless - plays a central part of the Government’s policy in relation to homeless and is led and serviced by the local authority, with each of the service providers around the table having a unique and important role to play in addressing the issues which are preventing that person from sustaining a home.

Whilst cases are assessed at HAT team level, the key objective of the HAT team is to identify the most appropriate service support and the role of the service provider is to deliver on this and report back to HAT as to the effectiveness of same (or whether different or additional support is required). It is a team based and team supported process and all agencies are expected to deliver to the best of their ability in the interests of the individual who finds themselves homeless.

In Tipperary, some of those who present as homeless have chaotic and complex lifestyles and are particularly vulnerable. Their lifestyle is such they then cannot manage to maintain a home and invariably make themselves homeless again.

Government have realised that the current option of just offering them a home is not sufficient and as such, have introduced a “Housing First” model.

This programme seeks to work with those who are the most marginalised in the homeless sector.

Tipperary has a number of such clients and needs to seek to have this service introduced into the county and aligned with the significant level of continual wrap around supports that go with such a service.

Approval has now been received from the Department for the introduction of this service.