A steep fall in commercial rates paid to the council, a plan to borrow to build a new hub for council workers, and piloting a place for people to wash.
In many homeless hostels and repurposed hotels around Dublin, homeless people have been given their own rooms to socially distance. Things can’t go back to the way they were, some say.
Many of those who sleep rough haven’t had anywhere to wash for weeks, says Louisa Santoro, CEO of the Mendicity Institution. This is in part because some can’t get into accommodation still either, she says.
While life in hotels for homeless families was already hard, many say it’s getting tougher – and worry where they’ll get food from, where the kids can play, and where to do laundry.
“What gives me hope is seeing ordinary people organising to help each other when they’ve been so utterly failed by their government. With this illustration I hope to highlight and celebrate that,” writes illustrator Karen Vaughan.
Maybe they should remain in state care until they have somewhere else to go. Or maybe the council should ring-fence some social homes specifically for care leavers who need them.
Neither Tusla nor the Dublin Region Homeless Executive have accessible data around how many, but some say they should. “We can only address a problem properly when we understand the scale of it.”
Facilities “are not employing qualified, trained case workers to deal with the complex issues”, says Anthony Flynn, CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless.
Homeless HAP rates, which are higher, should be available to people earlier, say some Dublin councillors – although that raises questions about inflation of rents.
