We can’t ignore homelessness
When faced with something as catastrophic as the Covid-19 pandemic with the accompanying lockdowns, huge spikes in the numbers of people dying in and a health system that is under massive pressure, it’s easy to overlook other issues.
Many of us have; I know that I certainly have.
This week 'RTÉ Investigates: Stuck in the Rough’ shone a light on the scourge of homelessness, highlighting that there were 56 homeless deaths in the first 11 months of 2020.
The show took a look at the lives of rough sleepers and homeless hostel users in Dublin before Christmas.
RTÉ Investigates undertook a detailed survey on the streets of Dublin with Amarach Research, to look at the challenges homeless people face. They spoke in confidence with 80 people who either sleep rough or use emergency hostels.
They found that 48 per cent of those surveyed were not addicted to drugs before becoming homeless. However, after becoming homeless, 50 per cent of those people became addicted to hard drugs despite never previously having a drug problem.
This is a shocking stat that shows how so many homeless people who have a drug addiction are addicts due to being homeless and not homeless because of their addiction.
Among the younger age groups the rate of addiction is even higher. For 18 to 34 year olds, 71 per cent turned to drugs, despite no previous history of drug addiction. Heroin and alcohol were the most common drugs followed by cannabis, prescription drugs, crack cocaine and cocaine.
The programme also found that of those who did not have mental health issues prior to being homeless, 58 per cent went on to develop mental health issues while on the streets
One of the issues that the programme really looked at in detail was how people from outside Dublin can’t get into the hostels in Dublin.
People that are sleeping rough are supposed to be able to get an emergency hostel bed by ringing a number operated by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE). However rough sleepers from outside Dublin are being denied access to an emergency hostel bed in the city. That is a disgrace and it can’t continue.
Is there really a will to end the homelessness crisis though?
Elsewhere, he’s not even in the door and he’s at it again.
“My colleagues in the Senate used to kid me for quoting Irish poets. They thought I did it because I'm Irish. I didn't do it for that reason. I did it because they're the best poets in the world.”
That was from a speech by Joe Biden on Tuesday but I’m quite sure he quoted some Irish poets last night at his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States last night in Washington DC.
As we look forward to better times, his ascension to the highest office in America is something that we Irish can be hopeful will lead to better times.