Contrasting views aired on issue of homelessness
Contrasting views on the extent of homelessness in Meath were delivered at a meeting of Meath Co Council this week when independent Cllr Alan Lawes called on the council to provide assistance to out of hours homeless emergency calls.
Cllr Lawes said that people working with the homeless in Navan would say that four people were sleeping rough but he imagined the figure for the county would be bigger. He was now trying to set up groups in other areas to support the homeless.
“Some of us are trying to see the delivery of a hostel in Meath but that is in the future”. There was a need to do something now in emergency situations. He instanced the case of a 21-year-old woman who had mental health issues. “The idea that we would walk away from that young girl on a policy decision to wait for the next working day is intolerable. What happens if she is in an emergency – she has to wait until Monday. And if there is a bank holiday she would have to wait from Friday until the following Tuesday. We have to do something different.It's not going to be too long before the people we see on the streets will end up in the Boyne. Do something now”.
Independent Cllr Gillian Toole said that in the last few months she had come across three instances where people were in difficulty. In these instances, when she contacted a council official that person had gone way beyond their remit in an effort to help. What was needed was the development of a “wraparound” service to cater for the needs of homeless people.
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Fianna Fail Cllr Tom Behan said he thought the housing department was doing a very good job with the resources it had. It would be wrong not to commend the housing department for the job they were doing.
Responding to Cllr Lawes, council officials said that the council's emergency out of hours phone number covered all services provided by the council, including housing. That number was focused where the need for emergency accommodation arose through unexpected and sudden events, namely where families/persons were rendered homeless as a result of fire/flood. Calls received on the emergency number were responded to. All other calls regarding homelessness were dealt with on the next working day.
The officials said that in their experience there were cases of rough sleepers in the county though the numbers were low in the context of the overall homeless presentations. The contributing factors leading to rough sleepers were typically health related with significant addiction and/or mental health issues involved. Rough sleeping did not generally materialise for an individual for the first time in an out of hours context – the majority of rough sleepers were already known to the homeless service and prior engagement had already taken place. The requirement to complete a holistic assessment was imperative so that a person could be directed to the appropriate services. This was done to ensure the safety of the homeless person but also the safety of those who operated emergency accommodation, the officials added.