The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, has stated that various governments are responsible for the rising number of children attending school from emergency accommodation. He suggested that the shift away from local authority housing due to the 2008 economic downturn has worsened the situation, putting increasing amounts of children and families at risk of affordability-induced homelessness.
Dr Muldoon expressed these concerns during the formal inaugural ceremony of Houben House, a family hub in Dublin, operated by the Salvation Army and housing 62 families.
The Department of Housing’s most recent statistics reveal that currently in the State, over 14,000 people, including 4,400 children and 2,093 families, are categorised as homeless.
In a world of considerable complexity, Dr Muldoon highlighted the struggle homeless children face trying to maintain an average lifestyle, pointing out the insecurities associated with living in emergency accommodation.
A global study conducted recently by the Lancet Psychiatry Journal showed that young people’s mental health issues are intensifying, a condition further aggravated by the Covid pandemic and efforts to control it.
In line with this, The Children’s Ombudsman Office’s 20th anniversary children’s survey disclosed that Irish students consider mental health services as the most prevalent issue after the cost-of-living crisis.
Dr Muldoon questioned whether there are children elsewhere confronted with more complicated problems, mentioning that some children living in the hub are escapees from troubled regions, while others are victims of economic homelessness.
Parents are facing challenges and difficult circumstances. They reside in a small dwelling with their large family, which means there’s hardly any room for friends to drop by. This condition can result in social stigma for some. An urgent call for action to address the serious issue confronting numerous vulnerable Irish children has been asserted by the Ombudsman.
Houben House runs care facilities enlightened by trauma experiences, including a sensory room which serves as a secure environment for children, particularly those suffering from developmental disorders. As Anthony Byrne, the service manager of the family hub, pointed out, this venue is vital because previously existing services were considerably smaller and lacked the required facilities. The primary problem with children relocating is that they miss out on development milestones, and such spaces slightly alleviate this struggle.
Moreover, he noticed an increasing number of children with additional needs utilising their services, making the situations incredibly challenging at times. Starting from 2020, Houben House began helping resident families seek out long-term residences. The employment of a choice-based letting system, enabling individuals to express their interest in unoccupied houses rather than simply joining a waiting list, expedited the process for some inhabitants of the family hub.
Currently, about 350 parents and children dwell there, turning it into the biggest family hub in both Ireland and within the Salvation Army in Europe. Dr Muldoon is optimistic about the facility’s standards; however, he emphasises the importance of finding lasting resolutions. He believes that if they can speed up the relocation process for families and children, such facilities can serve other purposes.
They could be utilised when children are affected by domestic violence situations or could play a role as halfway houses for teenagers recovering from addiction. He suggests that if the issue of homelessness could be addressed, these facilities could be potentially valuable government resources in the future.