This article is from page 8 of the 2006-04-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
A HOMELESS hostel for the growing number of homeless people in Ennis may be in place before the end of the year.
In the absence of a hostel, two homeless people died sleeping rough in the town in recent years, according to the Chairman of Clare County Council’s Special Policy Committee on Housing, Cllr Joe Arkins (FG).
“People die everyday, but in a wealthy society, we should be appalled that people are dying on our streets,” he said.
A meeting of the committee heard that, currently, there are 10 people sleeping rough in Ennis and eight young people sleeping rough in Shannon.
St Vincent de Paul has entered pre-planning discussions with Ennis Town Council about a property in Ennis, which the organisation is considering purchasing to use as a hostel, according to Cllr Arkins.
Community Welfare Officer, Margaret Coffey told the meeting that the county’s homeless problem was being exported, with Clare homeless people receiving accommodation in hostels in Limerick and Galway.
Ms Coffey told the meeting that there were two or three bed and breakfasts in Ennis that accommodated homeless people.
“But it is becoming more and more difficult to get accommodation and, with the dancing championships on in Ennis this week, the bed and breakfasts just want the people out.
“Over the Summer it becomes next to impossible to get accommodation. That is why it is essential that a hostel is opened.”
Ms Coffey said that the age profile for homeless people presenting went from 17 to 75 years of age.
She added that Clare Haven Services provides a refuge for victims of domestic violence where women and children are accommodated.
However, Ms Coffey said that when a man presented as homeless, who was also a victim of domestic violence, there were no suitable services to direct him towards.
Ms Coffey said that the absence of the hostel is a major deficiency in the needs of homeless people. A hostel had “been talked about for four of five years, but there has been little progress,” she said.
It cost €320,000 for the homeless unit, since its establishment three years ago by the council and the Health Services Executive, to cater for 1,301 homeless people presenting.
Last year, the Unit spent €157,000 providing for 490 people, with most of the money being spent on bedand-breakfast accommodation.
Cllr Arkins said that the provision of a hostel is not a solution to the problem, but is one of the tools that can be used in addressing the issue.
He expressed his preference for a centrally located site in Ennis, with no neighbouring properties, to avoid planning objections.