Homelessness figures fluctuate in North-East
The combined North East region reported 81 adults in emergency accommodation for October 2021, the latest figures available from the Department of the Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Along with Cavan and Monaghan, County Louth is part of the North East region for the purposes of reporting homelessness.
There were nine families, with 18 dependants associated with these families, in emergency accommodation in the North-East region during the October count week.
The most recent published data also shows 170 adults in emergency accommodation in neighbouring Meath for the same period.
The numbers in the North-East region in particular have fluctuated throughout 2021, with the October figure rising from 75 the month before, but down from a peak number in August, at 103.
According to the department, there were two new Housing First Tenancies created in Cavan in third quarter of this year, July to September, with seven in Louth, and none in Monaghan.
There were four in existence in the county at the end of the previous quarter, 18 in Louth, and two in Monaghan, both of which were new tenancies.
A Statutory Management Group meeting scheduled to take place in Q3 to discuss homelessness in the region was postponed due to COVID-19, however, representatives from the three local authorities- Cavan, Monaghan and Louth- have been in regular contact with HSE members and other service providers.
The 2021 Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA) process is currently underway and the summary report will be published in “due course”, say the Department, which notes that the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) provides an immediate form of social housing support for people with a long-term housing need.
The 2021 Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA) process is currently underway and the summary report will be published in due course.
By the end of September there were 101 HAP tenancies in existence in Cavan, 87 in Monaghan, and 526 in Louth.
There were 41 more in neighbouring Co Leitrim, 67 in Longford, and 330 in Meath.
There are 264 housing units provided in Cavan by approved 11 Housing Bodies; 366 units in Monaghan; 72 in Leitrim; and 370 in Longford.