Families requiring help from homeless charity rose by 60% last year - report

A homeless charity saw a 60% increase from families requiring support last year, its annual report shows. 

Figures contained in the 2022 annual report from Depaul show that 7,455 people - 5,808 adults and 1,647 children were supported in 2022.

763 families came through Depaul’s services, a 60% increase from 2021. 

Over 1,600 children (1,647) facing homelessness were supported, up from 822 in 2021.

In that year, 14 babies were born in Depaul’s services. 

202 lives were directly saved by Depaul staff in the Republic of Ireland through the administration of Naloxone - a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.

Depaul today released their 2022 annual report, highlighting the organisation’s leadership in providing solutions during this period of unprecedented homelessness and housing shortages and commemorating twenty years of service in Ireland.

In a resolute response to the unparalleled housing crisis, Depaul significantly increased its homeless support efforts in 2022, providing crucial interventions to over 7,400 individuals, a twofold increase compared to 2021.

In a testament to Depaul’s commitment to supporting those experiencing housing difficulties, individuals and families were supported through Depaul’s five service areas; Prevention, Families & Young People, High Support Accommodation, Health & Rehabilitation and Housing. 

Depaul is a leading provider of low-threshold support services and in 2022 supported 1,720 people with addiction issues, highlighting the significant inter-relationship between homelessness and substance use. Depaul helps people with multiple needs, chronic addictions and challenging behaviours and their low-threshold support services focus on harm reduction. 

In 2022, 161 lives were saved directly by Depaul staff in the Republic of Ireland through the administration of Naloxone - a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. 

Last year, the number of families Depaul supported in 2022 increased by 60% and 14 babies were born into Depaul’s services, highlighting the urgent need to address the issue of intergenerational homelessness.  Concerningly, almost 40% of service users were aged 18-30, with many coming directly from the care system, emphasizing the need for early intervention. 

Other significant outcomes achieved by Depaul in 2022 include: 

Depaul is leading the Homeless Health Peer Advocacy Programme in the Republic of Ireland. This vital leadership in health programme trains and supports people who have experienced homelessness themselves to assist homeless people with complex health problems in accessing healthcare services. In 2022, 82 hospital appointments were supported through the HHPA programme, alleviating pressure on the Health Service Executive. 

Depaul’s Housing Association (DHA) has been making every effort to acquire properties to help individuals and families desperate to exit homelessness. In 2022, DHA housed 47 people, including 13 children and four with disabilities.

Depaul was one of the key charities involved in the National Youth Homelessness Strategy which was launched in 2022.

Issues around accommodating refugees dominated much of the national agenda in 2022 and during a year like no other, Depaul supported 2,664 through their Cosan Nua service while helping 224 people to exit direct provision.

With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Depaul provided help via Depaul Ireland’s Support and Resettlement Fund for Displaced People as Ukrainian refugees began to arrive in Ireland. Depaul led the response through essential hotel in-reach support, linking in with newly arrived Ukrainian people.

Depaul CEO, David Carroll said, “We are proud to have led through this turbulent year with a strong and significant response, continuing to provide solutions during this period of unprecedented housing shortages. We could not have achieved what we did without the support of the Depaul team, the volunteers and supporters. However, as we recognise our achievements, we must continue to acknowledge that addressing homelessness requires more than temporary solutions. Urgent early interventions are essential to break the cycle of dependency, especially for vulnerable individuals, preventing homelessness from becoming an intergenerational norm. 

“The 2022 Annual Report detailed that 4,329 notices to quit were issued to renters by landlords in the final three months of last year. This, on top of the high numbers accessing emergency accommodation, underlined the importance of the role of housing provision in eradicating and preventing homelessness. Depaul is incredibly concerned that the lack of housing will exacerbate the homelessness crisis even further into 2024. Increased efforts and initiatives must be made to ensure that housing can be accessed by those most in need.

Speaking ahead of Budget 2024 this October Depaul CEO, David Carroll stressed the significance of this year’s budget for the thousands of people living in temporary accommodation and highlighted three key areas where funding is urgently needed.”

“Depaul is urging the government to consider its asks in three critical key areas:

Housing: Depaul is urging the government to ensure housing options for homeless individuals through a reform of landlord taxation in order to retain housing stock. This could be done by establishing a 25% flat tax rate for small landlords who offer more tenant security, providing 4% annual relief for rental properties with tenants in situ, ensuring rental market stability and increasing national Tenant in Situ guidelines to approximately 5,000 to meet demand. A complete review of HAP is needed to ensure it can support households and individuals to find and sustain accommodation, in conjunction with increasing the provision of more social homes by local authorities and approved housing bodies. While Housing for All has committed to an additional 10,000 social homes per year until 2030, the private rental sector must function effectively to meet the needs of families and individuals now.”

Recruitment & Retention Crisis: With the ongoing crisis in recruitment and retention, Depaul is urging the government to allocate adequate funding for quality services in the ongoing homelessness crisis. This can be achieved by closing the pay gap (10-12%) between Section 39/10 organisations and public-sector employees and by including state-funded charities in public-service pay talks and relevant forums to prevent future pay disparities.

Homeless Health Budget: Healthcare for people in homelessness is an area of critical concern for Depaul and the government must allocate dedicated funds for homeless-specific health services, including physical health, mental health, and addiction support. We simply cannot ignore the inextricable link between homelessness and substance use and meaningful resources must be allocated in Budget 2024 to address the healthcare needs of people in homelessness with addiction issues. This cohort faces remarkably worse health outcomes and the mean age of death is significantly lower. Depaul is also asking the government to fund dual diagnosis treatment services for those with mental health and addiction issues and to increase treatment and support for drug addiction and overdose prevention.”

Speaking of the need for additional health supports for people in homeless services who are experiencing addiction issues, Dermot Murphy, Depaul’s Director of Services & Development said:  “Homelessness is both stigmatising and isolating and can be a cause and consequence of substance use disorders. Our experience is that people in homelessness have experienced trauma in their life and additional mental health and addiction support are crucial for this cohort. We are seeing younger people with complex health needs presenting to our services and this comes with additional support needs. 

“Wrap-around support is essential for this particular cohort - ensuring that the right services are implemented at the right time.  We know from experience that having services and people in the background has been shown to support service users when they stop using alcohol or drugs. It’s a reassurance for them. Services can step in to prevent crises from occurring and we can mediate and advocate on their behalf when issues arise.

“We would also like to see the immediate roll-out of medically supervised injection centres (MSIC) for all who require it. Supervised injecting rooms save people’s lives, take injecting off the streets and alleviate the burden on frontline workers. Our service users have reported feeling ‘shame’ and feeling ‘dirty’ when injecting drugs on the streets and would welcome a safer and more dignified environment.”