Simon Communities of Ireland has said the issue of hidden homelessness is affecting thousands across Ireland, but those struggling "remain unseen" by traditional support services.
The network of homeless services said the crisis consists of those who are "couch-surfing", staying in overcrowded accommodation, or living in insecure and temporary housing.
In partnership with Mid-West Simon, which covers Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, the Simon Communities of Ireland hosted an event in Limerick to highlight the struggles faced by individuals and families living in "precarious" housing situations without access to the support they need.
Earlier this year, a joint report from the Simon Communities of Ireland and Simon Community NI revealed that hidden homelessness impacts 30,000 households across the island of Ireland.
Executive Director of Simon Communities of Ireland, Wayne Stanley, said: “Hidden homelessness is a critical issue that does not get the attention it deserves.
"These are people who fall through the cracks of our system—living in unstable, insecure conditions, often without knowing where they'll be sleeping tomorrow. We need to start acknowledging their existence and implementing solutions that will bring them out of the shadows and into safety.
"We recognise hidden homelessness as a significant aspect of the housing crisis. We hope that by highlighting the issue during Simon Week, we can drive real change and bring hidden homelessness to the forefront of housing policy discussions.”
Housing crisis
Lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon, Lorcan Byrne, said hidden homelessness is an important and little understood manifestation of the current housing crisis.
He said the latest Simon Communities report should encourage policymakers and practitioners to rethink the current model of service provision from a reactive approach to a proactive approach.
"The providers of emergency accommodation witness daily the impacts of hidden homelessness on those entering homeless services, where extreme precarity and exposure to chronic stress has already undermined their health and well-being, this is before they have had any opportunity to benefit from current service provision," he said.
"The issue of hidden homelessness ought to be at the forefront of discussion about the provision of services to homeless people, however ultimately this report highlights newer depths to the housing crisis, and that housing policy needs to provide adequate, affordable, and appropriate housing urgently.”
Eleshia Daly of Mid-West Simon said: “Every day, we at Mid-West Simon Community meet people who are hidden homeless or have experienced hidden homelessness.
"It is our belief that by early intervention and prevention efforts, such as our social grocery initiative, we as a community, can support people into homes and not homelessness.
"With the provision of preventative supports and adequate, affordable, appropriate housing, we can effect change that makes a lasting impact on the those most vulnerable in our locality.”
