In From the Cold - Radical New Plan to Tackle Rough Sleeping in Cork

December 2012With little action by Government to tackle the significant increase over recent months in Cork in the number of people sleeping rough, Cork Simon Community, in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul, Focus Ireland and Threshold, has put together a radical new initiative to ensure that no one is left out in the cold.The number of people sleeping rough in Cork increased from an average of two people per night last March to an average of ten people per night last October. During the first eleven months of this year a total of 157 different people were recorded as sleeping rough on at least one night compared to 38 different people in all of 2011 – a four-fold increase. Occupancy at Corks main emergency shelters has increased rapidly during the year; both Cork Simon and St. Vincent de Paul have had to increase capacity to deal with demand.The plan, which is currently being rolled-out, will see Cork Simon, Focus Ireland and St. Vincent de Paul, lease 21 private rented flats directly from landlords, and making them available to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Landlords will be guaranteed monthly rent and property maintenance. Tenants will have all the supports they need from the existing housing support teams to help ensure they maintain their tenancies and start piecing their lives back together.Cork Simon Community CEO, Dermot Kavanagh, said, “We simply no longer have enough emergency beds in Cork for everyone that needs one. This radical plan will free-up much needed emergency beds so that no one will have to sleep rough in Cork. It will ensure that people who are ready to leave homelessness behind them have access to suitable and affordable housing as quickly as possible, creating the space they need to start getting their lives back on track.”One of the biggest obstacles people face when they are ready to move out of homelessness is finding suitable housing at a price they can afford because of the Rent Allowance cap of €450 per month. This new initiative will see suitable housing being made available – along with the necessary health and social care supports, at a cost people can afford.Commenting on the project, Ger Spillane of Focus Ireland said, “We’re guaranteeing landlords a monthly rent, ongoing maintenance of their properties and an assurance that their property will be returned in its original state at the end of the lease. We’ll support every tenant for as long as is necessary. We’ve always wanted to move people out of emergency accommodation as quickly as possible, but the housing to do so simply wasn’t there. This new initiative will change that.”Cork Simon Community, Focus Ireland, St. Vincent de Paul and Threshold are jointly resourcing this new initiative from their own funding. Government spending to tackle homelessness has seen year-on-year cutbacks since 2008, with further cuts signalled for 2013.Dermot Kavanagh said, “The overwhelmingly generous support of the people and businesses of Cork is helping to make this happen. That generosity, coupled with the various charities pooling their resources and the co-operation of Cork City Council, will mean that no one should have to sleep rough in Cork over the coming months. Constant cuts in government funding undermine our ability to respond effectively to the growing number of people becoming homeless. The solution to homelessness is access to appropriate housing with support – this plan is that solution in Cork.”A number of leases have already been agreed with landlords and the first tenants started moving into their new homes in recent weeks. Paul Okere, Manager of the St. Vincent de Paul Hostel in Cork, said, “We’re already seeing the positive impact this plan is having on the number of people sleeping rough. During the first two weeks of December we saw instances of rough sleeping fall to an average of three people per night. We hope to see further improvements to that figure in the coming weeks.”Cork Simon, St Vincent de Paul, Focus Ireland and Threshold were recently noted for collaboration in The Guardian: Irish Charities find the going gets tougher