Housing crisis – Teach Fáilte in ‘crisis situation’ as all units full

Mullingar’s homeless shelter, Teach Fáilte, are reporting a crisis situation, as all 11 units are full to capacity and they are calling for more houses to be built urgently.

The facility provides both family rooms and smaller units for homeless people, catering mostly for women and children. They can accommodate 11 women and up to 15 children at their facility on the Green Road, but are being stretched to breaking point.

“We are full here, homeless facilities are being stretched and there is a backlog,” manager Fidelma Bennett said.

Teach Fáilte works in assisting homeless people through providing them with a safe place to stay, firstly, and then linking them into the services that will provide them with the help they need to find a home again. Part of TEAM (Temporary Emergency Accommodation Midlands), Teach Fáilte is working with four counties, Westmeath, Longford, Laois and Offaly. Separately, Esker House in Athlone provides shelter for people suffering from domestic violence.

More housing is urgently required to meet the growing demand.

“Until more homes are built, we will have this crisis,” Ms Bennett said.

Teach Fáilte is facing costs of around €350,000 per annum to remain open and has to raise around €140,000 this year to maintain a service that has never been in such high demand.

Ms Bennett said there is a lack of affordable and suitable accommodation, while more landlords are now exiting the market. It follows the decision to end the ban on evictions, while landlords are also exiting due to tax costs, she said.

Miss Bennett also pointed out some of the challenges homeless people, particularly women, are facing on a daily basis. “There’s a stigma attached to it. Mothers have huge guilt about becoming homeless and it’s difficult for a mother to come in here because of that. There’s a huge amount of guilt involved; they find themselves under severe pressure.

“Answering adverts on places like Daft.ie can be soul destroying for mothers. We try to give them as much support as possible.”

People would have moved through the system in a six-month period before the current crisis, now it takes, on average, up to a year to find a new home, Ms Bennett pointed out.

“They will be here much longer than expected because there is simply nowhere for them to go. There’s a lot of layers to the housing crisis: a couple can’t get a mortgage because they are paying exorbitant rents, for example. Properties that are being rented are being taken up by people who would have been mortgage-ready in the past. It’s a vicious circle.”

Also, people are finding that the current HAP (Housing Assistance Payments) scheme, funding provided by the state to help pay for homes, is insufficient due to rising rent costs.

“HAP provides an allowance per month according to property rates in each county, but there is such a gap between what landlords are looking for and the rate provided that people are finding themselves unable to meet the cost and so end up homeless,” Ms Bennett said.

The Westmeath Examiner asked Westmeath County Council questions in relation to the housing crisis, including the exact homeless figure and the number of homes that will be built this year, but as yet have received no reply.

Cllr Ken Glynn is also pursuing the information through the council’s housing department.