A shortage of one-bed accommodation and high rents in the city are hampering efforts to get people off the streets, according to Cork Simon
The Housing First Initiative introduced in 2013 has proved successful in securing a home for those experiencing homelessness, however the charity says providing housing for those outside the programme has been very difficult.
Housing First offers homeless people a place to live while they deal with underlying issues, with the vast majority of service users still in their home years after first being placed there.
Speaking to RedFM News, Paul Sheehan from Cork Simon outlines the difficulty for homeless people who are trying to find a home in the private rental sector:
"What didn't work so well, were people who weren't housed under Housing First, were depending on the private rented sector, particularly needed one bedroom flats because of the way the system is orientated and there remains a huge shortage of one bedroom accommodation in the city. So because of that people couldn't get out of Homeless Services. They were experiencing isolation on top of already being isolated, and that did have an adverse impact on their mental health in some cases, and in other cases on issues around alcohol and drug addiction."
