HUNDREDS of men and women in Cork sought emergency accommodation last month, despite 4,500 homes lying vacant.
The situation is “unacceptable”, according to Cork Simon.
Yesterday, the organisation launched a publication, ‘Home Truths: Trying to find a home when you’re homeless’, which highlights the problems faced daily by homeless people.
The publication is based on focus groups held by Cork Simon to record the personal stories of the homeless.
“It doesn’t make sense to have all the people out on the street, when there’s houses there boarded up and they’re sitting there with no function. I’ve walked past bungalows that are boarded up the last three years,” said one participant.
“A lot of people that are in the situation [of homelessness] don’t actually need to be there, if the Government can sort these dwellings out.
“I’d take a house in any condition. I’ve slept on the streets. I’ve slept under a pizza box.” Focus-group participants also talked about their difficulties in accessing housing when it does become available.
“I went to one landlord before and he said ‘where are you living?’ and there was my mistake. When I said I was using hostels, he just closed his folder,” said one participant.
Every night of August, an average of 17 people slept rough on the streets of Cork. During September, to date, an average of 18 people per night have slept rough on the streets of Cork.
In one week last month, there were 211 men and women in emergency accommodation in Cork. In contrast, Census 2016 figures show there are 4,491 empty homes in Cork. July figures from local authorities show there were 361 vacant social-housing units.
“People have been through enough. ‘Home Truths’ reflects people’s loss of dignity and fading hope; they’ve endured rough-sleeping, abuse, prejudice, discrimination, and some have come alarmingly close to death while homeless,” said Dermot Kavanagh, director of Cork Simon.
For more information, go to www.corksimon.ie. To read the ‘Home Truths’ report, go to www.corksimon.ie/home-truths.
The post 4,500 houses empty as people on street appeared first on Evening Echo.