Recommendations to address Rural Homelessness 3 Resources The Government must make clear commitments regarding funding across all key departments with responsibility for addressing homelessness until 2016. This was identified in theFirst report of the Homeless Oversight Group. The Simon Communities in Ireland saw a 24% increase in the number of people using our services in 2012. The numbers of people becoming homeless have continued to grow, especially in the last few months, far beyond what was anticipated in thisFirst Report of the Homeless Oversight Groupwhich was published at the end of 2013. We recommend • An increase in the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government housing budget and the homeless budget to meet growing demand. • The Budgets of the other Government Departments responsible for homelessness namely Department of Health (HSE) and Department of Social Protection must be reversed back to 2013 levels at a very minimum, as outlined in theFirst report of the Homeless Oversight Group. • The government must commit to a short and long term investment in housing first/led 17 solutions to ensure that the necessary housing and supports are in place prior to withdrawing funding from emergency accommodation, currently a vital part of measures in place to address homelessness. • Homeless services working in urban and rural setting must be adequately resourced to facilitate this transition. 4 Tailored services to meet local/regional need When working with different people with different needs it becomes clear that the approach must be tailored to suit, so too when providing services in different regions. Local and regional services must be tailored to meet the specific context in which they are operating. Vast geographical regions in rural areas may need different configurations of services than more densely populated urban regions. For example, the agreement of a protocol for the operation of the Resettlement Support Service (RSS) in the Midlands between the four local authorities, the HSE and Midlands Simon Community has facilitated a new service to operate effectively across a rural region. They also need to be adaptable and flexible to meet changing needs. We recommend • Responses to homelessness must be nationally driven but locally developed and delivered to ensure they are responsive to changing needs and that people can remain in their communities where they have family and other support networks. 36 www.dcenr.gov.ie/Energy/Energy+Efficiency+and+Affordability+Division/retrofit+Consultation.htm 37 www.ncaop.ie/publications/research/reports/Housing_Exclusion.pdf
Left out in the cold: A review of rural homelessness in Ireland
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