Waterford children facing homelessness after the school year
There is serious concern in Waterford over the issue. Stock image
A total of 5,620 children finished the school year without knowing where they will be living when classes in September, Sinn Féin representatives in Waterford have said.
Waterford TDs David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness have called on the Taoiseach and Minister for Housing to meet families living in emergency accommodation and hear directly about the impact homelessness is having on children.
The call follows the publication of the June Monthly Homelessness Report, which showed a 17% annual increase in family homelessness.
The report also showed that 27 additional children entered emergency accommodation in the last month, while the overall number of people in emergency accommodation has reached 17,482.
Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness along with Cllr Catherine Burke have met families experiencing homelessness in the Sands Hotel in Tramore and in other accommodation.
They said the meetings showed the strain homelessness is placing on families, particularly those with younger children.
“Some 5,620 children finished school this summer not knowing where they will be living when their classmates return in September," said Deputy Cullinane.
“That is a shocking and shameful figure," he added.
"Behind every number is a child and a family living with enormous stress, trauma and uncertainty."
Deputy Cullinane went on to comment: “Conor McGuinness, Cllr Catherine Burke, and I, have met with homeless families staying in the Sands Hotel in Tramore and elsewhere.
"We have listened to parents who are doing everything they can to protect their children from the stress and insecurity of homelessness."
“We know the impact this has on families, particularly those with young children," he said.
"Living in a hotel room or emergency accommodation is not a home," he added.
"There is often no proper space for children to play, study or simply enjoy a normal family life."
He went on to highlight that for many children, this will be their second or third summer living in emergency accommodation.
"This is happening at the same time that the Government has delayed its family homelessness plan until September," he said.
"Families who are homeless today cannot wait until September," he added.
Commenting that the families he and his colleagues met "are not statistics", he said: "They are parents and children who urgently need a safe and secure place to call home. We have seen the pressure that homelessness puts on family life."
"Parents are trying to keep routines in place, get children to school, prepare meals and maintain some sense of normality while living together in one room," he said.
“The Taoiseach and Minister for Housing must sit down with these families and listen directly to what they and their children are going through," he added. He went on to say families will "rightly" as why council homes remain boarded up while thousands of children are forced to live in hotels and other emergency accommodation.
“The Government must provide local authorities with the funding and resources needed to bring vacant homes back into use as quickly as possible," he said.
"Every available home should be used to provide a secure place for a family to live," he added.
Meanwhile, Cllr Catherine Burke said: “Meeting families in emergency accommodation brings home the reality of this crisis."
"Young children need stability, space and security, but too many are growing up without knowing where they will be living from one month to the next," she said.
"Homelessness is not normal and it must never be accepted as normal," she added.
"These families deserve more than another strategy or another delay. They deserve a permanent home.”
