Children presenting to homeless shelters unable to chew or swallow solid food

Homeless children are presenting at emergency accommodation hubs with underdeveloped swallow reflex and problems chewing solid food, believed to be associated with a prolonged diet of non-perishable puréed food.

Children presenting to homeless shelters unable to chew or swallow solid food

Homeless children are presenting at emergency accommodation hubs with underdeveloped swallow reflex and problems chewing solid food, believed to be associated with a prolonged diet of non-perishable puréed food.

The homeless service organisation, Novas, said it noticed the problem occurring in children presenting at its “family hub” services, who had spent lived for prolonged periods in hotel rooms with no access to cooking facilities.

“In hotels, families have no access to cooking, refrigeration or (food) storage facilities, so they cannot cook or prepare lunches, and that’s really debilitating, and, it is de-skilling parents and knocking their confidence,” explained Una Burns, Novas head of policy and communications.

“We have children presenting in our hubs who have lived in hotels previously and they are struggling to chew and swallow, because Mums and Dads haven’t been able to prepare proper food when they're living in hotels, so the children are still on puréed food in pouches, at two and three years of age, because it doesn't perish the same way fresh food does.”

“So, their swallow reflexes haven’t developed.”

Other “basic developmental milestones are being missed” in children who have been living for long periods in emergency accommodation.

Ms Burns also revealed that as there is little space to move around in this type of accommodation, “children are finding it difficult to learn to crawl and learn to walk”.

These are “things that we wouldn't associate with homelessness”, Ms Burns continued.

Children, she offered, are also experiencing “emotional challenges” borne out by “having the insecurity and anxiety of not knowing where they are going to sleep from night to night.”

“There is no targeted mental health interventions for children who are living in high stress congregated settings - whether that’s a hub, or direct provision, or a domestic violence (shelter).”

At the launch of its annual report for 2018, Novas said it had supported, for the first time, over 1,000 children who were homeless or at risk, as well as providing 110 tenancies nationwide.

Ms Burns said Novas has sought funds through the government social supports agency, Pobal, “to develop play and creative therapies” at its family hub in Ennis, which opened last June providing supports for five families.

“We want to try and develop a template that might be used nationally to support children in their mental health, in their physical development, and their ability to express the anxieties that they experience from these high-stress congregated settings,” she explained.

It also runs a hub in Dublin, catering for up to 11 families.

“We try to keep them small, because small hubs mirror more closely a homelike environment; there’s less conflict between families; it’s easier to support families; and its easier for them to live independently.”

— HOMELESS CASE STUDY —

Mike Duggan, from St Mary’s Park, Limerick, who spoke at the launch of the 2018 Novas Annual Report about how Novas supported him out of homelessness.
Mike Duggan, from St Mary’s Park, Limerick, who spoke at the launch of the 2018 Novas Annual Report about how Novas supported him out of homelessness.

MIKE DUGGAN hit “rock bottom” when he found himself sleeping rough on a riverbank, after loosing apartment.

The former block-layer became homeless after his landlord informed him the lease on his apartment was not been renewed, and the property would be put up for sale.

Duggan, 32, admitted he had recreationally snorted cocaine on nights out, but his habit spiraled out of control when he found himself without a home.

“I was sleeping on people’s couches, and my drinking and drug use escalated. People got sick of me and I burnt my bridges with everybody,” he admitted.

He tried hostels but found them to be a breeding ground for other drug users:

“To be honest, the problem I had would have escalated if I stayed there longer.”

With no job, family, and no home, he “contemplated suicide, many times”.

“I was crying my eyes, I didn't want to die, but I thought it was th only (option).”

Last year, as he lit a fire to keep him warm on his riverbank bed, he decided to seek help.

“Collecting firewood gave me a drive to survive. It was the spark I needed. I had hit rockbottom and I decided I wanted to get myself out of this.”

Novas helped secure accommodation and a place on a drug treatment programme.

With their support Duggan found full-time employment and has renewed his relationship with his children.

“I have been given a second chance at life and I’ve taken it with both my arms,” he said.

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