Homeless Numbers Hit Record High

Burnaby hideaway…

s the latest nationwide numbers are released, Wicklow’s numbers are on the increase as the country hits a record high for the sixth consecutive month.

The latest figures show that 51 people in Wicklow are living in emergency accommodation, part of 11,632 across Ireland.

For Tiglin founder and chair Aubrey McCarthy, the need for the government to sit down and talk to charities in the homeless sector has never been more urgent.

“They need to put in place a national action plan of response,” he says. “And part of that response is to identify derelict buildings, such as hotels, and have them immediately pursued and retrofited as turnkey solutions for charities in the sector.”

Tigin’s homeless outreach at The Lighthouse on Dublin’s Pearse Street – which usually serves up to 250 people with dinner – has seen a 30% increase this week alone. The nationwide homeless total includes 3,442 children, whilst Dublin has 8,300 people in emergency accommodation, including 2,500 children. These Department of Housing figures don’t include refugees, asylum seekers, women in refuge centres or rough sleepers.

According to McCarthy, charities like Tiglin are ready and waiting to step up and run these any units the government can provide. “We are ready, we are doing this, we have done it already,” he says. “We have a model. With some joined-up thinking solutions are there to be found…”

“These solutions include repurposing unused properties and buildings, we all clearly see these properties every day, part of the answer may well be literally staring us in the face.”

Tiglin has a proven track record on this. In March 2022, they were one of the first charities to open its doors to refugees fleeing to Ireland from war-torn Ukraine. At their Coolnagreina campus in Greystones, Tiglin immediately ramped up an accommodation provision service for 120 people.

McCarthy: “These services very quickly extended on from just a bed and a meal to enrolment in local schools, clinics and workshops, working with the HSE to address practical, social and healthcare needs, providing trauma informed counselling and children’s therapy, as well as important employment opportunities. During their stay in Greystones Tiglin has focused on helping our Ukrainian friends to find long term stability and security in Ireland as well as providing peace and security of mind.

“We believe this proven model of care can be extended to every town in Ireland…”