Dublin Simon Community Welcomes Continuing Decline in Dublin Homelessness Figures for April 2020

• 6,498 people accessed emergency accommodation in Dublin in April 2020
• Continued reduction in families recorded as singles remain frustratingly high at 2,853
• Charity identifies growing importance of homelessness prevention and warns against “waterfall” as economy begins to re-open

Dublin, 4th June 2020: Dublin Simon Community welcomes the publication of the April 2020 Homelessness Report, released today by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

According to the April report,

• 6,498 people accessed emergency accommodation in Dublin in April 2020. 7% decrease from March 2020 (7,006), and a 9% decrease from April 2019 (7,170).
• 974 Dublin families accessed emergency accommodation in April 2020, compared with 1,103 in March 2020 and 1,284 in April 2019
• 2,853 singles access emergency accommodation in April 2020, compared with 2,906 in March 2020 and 2,571 in April 2019.

Despite the continuing downward trend in Dublin homelessness overall and Dublin families in particular, the number of single people in homelessness has not experienced the same downward slope and remains frustratingly high.

Commenting on the April 2020 homelessness figures, Dublin Simon Community CEO, Sam McGuinness said:

“We welcome the reduction in the number of people in emergency accommodation in Dublin during April 2020. This month we see a continuation of the decrease in family homelessness we have witnessed over the last few months. The number of single people in homelessness remains frustratingly flat and as always, we strongly advocate for increased access to one and two bed accommodation for these people.

 From the outset of this Covid-19 crisis, teams from across the sector – ourselves, Safetynet, Focus, De Paul, Crosscare and other NGO partners – have rallied together and done great work in the face of extraordinarily challenging conditions. Our own SLI team’s workload has increased significantly as they have made the move to remote working. Before the Covid-19 lockdown the team were providing 166 home visits each week. Now, they are averaging 1,088 engagements, contacting clients by phone, text and email.

 Our key area of focus and ‘mission critical’ for us and for the foreseeable future is homelessness prevention. As we have seen over the last few months, great work has been done by all involved to stem the flow into homelessness. Now, as we begin to relax emergency measures and re-open the economy, we simply cannot allow a waterfall to happen. As we take our first steps back into a new kind of normal, we must be conscious of those who have lost jobs, struggling to pay rent, or whose financial situation has been decimated by this pandemic. These people are among the most vulnerable in our society right now and cannot be left behind in this new world.”