Focus Ireland Warn Of Worrying Youth Homeless Crisis

Homeless organisation Focus Ireland have warned of a drastic increase of young people becoming homeless in Ireland.

They say that the amount of 18-24 year olds who are forced onto the street has shot up by 78% in the last three years and that we are now at crisis point.

Recent figures show that 776 young people are either homeless or in emergency accommodation, which is an increase of 78pc from 436 in April 2014.

Focus Ireland Director of Advocacy Mike Allen said that more has got to be done to prevent people from becoming homeless.

He said: “We know that young people aged 18 to 24 outside of families have really been hit hard by the reduced rate of social welfare available to them. When a young person falls into the nightmare that is homelessness, there’s always an underlying reason. Not getting accommodation or support upon leaving State Care, family problems, mental health challenges and/or purely economic pressures and unemployment.

“It is wrong that young people are often left to fend for themselves in these situations. 

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