Notwithstanding the difficult international and national backdrop of the 2020 budget, namely Brexit and climate change, NOVAS believe the budget announced by Minister Paschal Donahoe yesterday did not go far enough to address the restlessness housing crisis and prevent more households becoming homeless.

There were some positive elements in yesterday’s announcement, particularly the restoration of full Job Seekers Allowance for young people under the age of 25, who are in receipt of HAP payments. This issue is something NOVAS and other organisations working with young people experiencing homelessness, have been campaigning on for years. While it does not go far enough (in terms of the caveat that young people have to be in receipt of HAP) it is a positive preventative measure to support vulnerable young adults.

The housing allocation of €2.5b for the construction of new homes, already earmarked within Rebuilding Ireland, is welcome, as is the commitment to construct 11,000 new social houses in 2020. However, this target is too low, accounting for approximately 10% of the current national social housing waiting list, without a single new household joining it.

The budget copper-fastened government policy of relying on the private rented market to meet our social housing needs. An additional €80m will be spend on HAP payments next year, bringing total spend to over €500m. While it is necessary for low-income households to compete in the private rented market, this policy does nothing to add stock, provides no security of tenure for tenants and all of the income goes directly to private landlords. The private market is not, and never will be, the solution to our social housing needs in this state.

We welcome the additional €20m in funding for the delivery of new homeless services, however last year approximately 50% of this was paid to private hotels and B&B’s.

Overall, we believe additional preventative measures are required at a time when the rate of people becoming homeless is greater than ever. We need more social and affordable house builds, through the Land Development Agency and through other means. We recognise the ongoing challenge the government faces in meeting the immediate crisis and delivering long-term sustainable solutions. Collectively we must be creative and brave in delivering these solutions to provide meaningful outcomes for the thousands of people without a home of their own.

NOVAS will extend service provision in the coming days with the onset of bad weather.

In Limerick our TEP service will open from 9pm tonight until Friday afternoon.
McGarry House will provide four additional emergency beds.
The 24/7 helpline – 1800 606060 – will operate throughout the period.

In Kerry if support is required out-of-office hours, ring Arlington Lodge for support:066 7193800. Additional emergency accommodation will be made available as necessary.

In Tipperary if support is required out-of-office hours, ring Mitchel Street for support: 0504 58838. Additional emergency accommodation will be made available as necessary.

In Dublin the Street Outreach Service operates from 7am to am – 01 872 0185 (The Simon Community).

Central Placement Service FREEPHONE – 1800 707 707 from 2pm to 1am (DCC Homeless Services)

Homeless figures for July, which were published by the Department of Housing today, reveal that for the 6th month in a row, homeless figures exceed 10,000.

There were 103 more people officially recorded as homeless in July compared to June of this year. 35 more families are living in emergency accommodation. The age profile of homeless people in Ireland is increasingly younger as the number of children experiencing homelessness continues to grow. In July there were 3778 children officially recorded as homeless.

As grave as these figures are they do not include people who are rough sleeping, living in tents, squatting, sofa surfing and the many forms of hidden homelessness.

Funded by the Mid-West Regional Drug & Alcohol Service, NOVAS operates two addiction services that can be accessed by people throughout Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary.

To learn more about our Mid-West Community Detox Service, watch this short video.

To learn more about our Mid-West Family Respite Service, watch this short video.

NOVAS today commenced operation of the first family hub in Co. Clare, which has been delivered by the Social Development Directorate of Clare County Council and funded by the County Council and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

The hub, located on the Lahinch Road in Ennis, will be operated by NOVAS and funded by Clare County Council. It will provide supported accommodation for five families from the Ennis area who are currently experiencing homelessness.

The Hub, a collaboration between NOVAS and Clare County Council, is a response to the growing homeless crisis in the Mid-West region. Una Burns, Head of Policy and Communications with NOVAS said of the development ‘we are delighted to work closely with the council to get the hub opened ahead of schedule and offer a degree of security for families who have been living in hotels and B&B’s in the region. We are grateful that Clare County Council were able to secure and redesign the building to create this hub. They have done a wonderful job in creating a space that is centred around the child, with dedicated indoor and outdoor play areas, comfortable bedrooms and communal spaces with homework stations, cooking and laundry facilities and relaxation spaces.’ While hubs are not a long-term solution to family homelessness, they offer a degree of structure and stability, while we support residents to secure permanent housing.

There are currently 28 homeless families in Clare, with many more hidden homeless, sofa surfing, involuntary sharing and living in substandard accommodation. As well as operating the hub, the staff of the new facility will offer outreach support to vulnerable families in the region. For more than ten years NOVAS has provided intensive family support in Limerick and works with close to 300 families per year. While the support is based on the bespoke needs of individual families it relates to securing and maintaining housing, budgeting and money management, eliminating anti-social behaviour and education and schooling. A similar model will be provided in Clare.

Damien McMahon from Clare County Council said the new service ‘offered a meaningful opportunity for homeless families to access sustainable exits from homelessness with the support of professional staff from NOVAS and the Council. Clare County Council housing department have worked tirelessly to ensure the hub was opened as soon as possible and is confident the new facility will provide a new beginning for vulnerable families in the region.’

The most recent homeless figures released by the Department of Housing are the highest to date. There are now 9,987 people registered as homeless. There are many more who are involuntarily sharing, living in substandard accommodation and sofa surfing, not counted in the official figures. There has been a significant and expected increase in the numbers presenting as homeless from December 2018 to January 2019.

A significant policy shift needs to be implemented to halt the unprecedented homeless crisis. We need greater CPO powers to acquire existing properties that are vacant for long periods of time. We also need public land to be used for public housing. This will reduce demand for HAP and our over-reliance on the private-rented market, freeing up properties in this sector. We also need to implement a rental system that is aligned to the rates of inflation or other similar indexes.

Una Burns, Head of Policy and Communications with NOVAS stated that ‘the latest homeless figures are disappointing’ and urged people ‘not to lose sight of the personal trauma experienced by the individuals experiencing homelessness, particularly the 1000’s of children living in B&B’s & family hubs. Last year NOVAS worked with 401 families in Limerick, west Cork, Tipperary and Dublin, who were homeless or at risk. This was the greatest number of families that we had ever worked with and highlights the ever-growing number of households vulnerable to homelessness.’

Furthermore she stated that ‘Rebuilding Ireland, in its current state, in not a feasible document. Figures need to be revised, in terms of the amount of housing needed and the targets for new social housing builds. The plan over-relies on HAP payments and this simply isn’t working. Indeed, The Joint Committee on Housing, Planning & Local Government, when examining the potential impact of Brexit on Ireland’s Housing Market found that if the targets set out in Rebuilding Ireland remain fixed, they will become separate to the housing needs of the country.’

As the crisis continues, government must take immediate steps to keep people in their current homes. Rent pressure zones must be extended and sufficient oversight of these zones must be implemented. Vacant properties in our urban centres must be brought into use and public land must be prioritised for social housing.

NOVAS CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS

During the Christmas period there will be adjustments to our opening hours. See below for full details.

LIMERICK: The 24-hour helpline will be available as normal: 1800 60 60 60.

TEP hours will be extended and will open 24/7 on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St. Stephen’s Day, New Years Eve & New Years Day.

All other accommodation services will operate 24/7 as normal.

Family Service and out-of-hours drop-in will operate reduced hours. From 22nd of December to 02 January this service will open daily from 12pm to 4pm and from 11am to 3pm on Christmas Day.

TIPPERARY: Mitchel Street will open 24/7 as normal.

Croke Street Outreach Service will be closed on Christmas Day, St. Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Day.

Nenagh office will be closed on Christmas Day.

KERRY: All our accommodation services here will be open 24/7

DUBLIN: Our accommodation services will be open 24/7.

 

For the third consecutive year NOVAS is holding a Christmas Sleep-out outside Brown Thomas in Limerick. This year the event is taking place on Friday 21st of December from 7pm to 7am, with special guest Liam McCarthy.

Members of the All-Ireland Hurling Team will bring the Liam McCarthy Cup to the event at 7pm. There will also be Christmas carols by the wonderful Sinead O’Brien, otherwise known as blogger sensation Sinead Curvy Style. It promises to be a fun event that will raise vital funds for homeless services in the region.

Una Burns, Head of Policy and Communications with NOVAS said that they are so grateful for the support of the Limerick’ hurlers, particularly Seamus Hickey and Will O’Donoghue who are fronting their Christmas Campaign in the City. She noted that ‘the Sleep-out is NOVAS biggest fundraising campaign of the year and that we are looking for as many people as possible to get involved this year through sleeping out, donating online or fundraising on the night. The money raised will go directly to our services in Limerick and the wider mid-west region, including our Street Outreach Service and the Intensive Family Support Service.’

To get involved in the sleep-out people can email chris.oconnor@novas.ie for further details and for sponsorship cards. People can also donate here or through the organisation’s idonate page

You can add a Twibbon to your social media accounts by following this link.

 

On Sunday 18th of November Liveable Limerick have organised a charity Christmas Dash on O’Connell Street in aid of NOVAS and The Peter McVerry Trust. The event will precede Light Up Limerick, which officially marks the beginning of the Christmas period in the city. The proceeds of the fun run will be split between the two homeless services, both of whom have offices on O’Connell Street.

The main thoroughfare in the city will be closed to traffic for the day and the route of the Christmas Dash is 120m between the offices of PMV and NOVAS, no. 50 and no. 89 respectively. There will be a variety of races on the day including a Mr. & Mrs. Claus’s three-legged race, a celebrity dash, wheelchair dash and sack race.

The event will take place at 12pm on Sunday the 18th of November. People can register at NOVAS’ Head Office on 87 O’Connell Street from 10.30am. Registration costs just €2.