Homelessness Prevention Framework

Preventing homelessness before it happens is essential. There are already many government supports in place to help people find and keep safe housing. This new Prevention Framework will bring all these efforts together. It will help different departments work better together and identify any missing supports especially for people most at risk of becoming homeless.

The Framework looks at five main types of prevention:

• Universal Prevention: General supports for everyone to reduce the risk of homelessness.
• Upstream Prevention: Early help for people showing signs of housing difficulty.
• Crisis-Stage Prevention: Support for people at immediate risk of losing their home.
• Emergency Stage Prevention: Help for people who are already homeless to avoid rough sleeping.
• Repeat Prevention: Support to stop people from becoming homeless again.

The Framework will focus on:

• Building more social and affordable housing.
• Providing targeted support for people most at risk of homelessness.
• Acting early to stop people from needing emergency accommodation.
• Ensuring emergency accommodation is available and of good quality so no one has to sleep rough.
• Supporting people as they leave emergency accommodation to prevent them from returning to homelessness.

The Framework will involve:

• Government departments
• Local authorities
• State agencies
• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

It will promote teamwork and shared responsibility to reduce homelessness.

The Framework will look at the reasons people become homeless, especially those most at risk. Information from local authorities shows that many people using homeless services also need health care, especially for mental health and addiction.

The Framework will focus on:

• People losing their homes in the private rental market.
• People leaving Direct Provision or newly arrived in Ireland.
• Victims of domestic violence.
• People needing mental health or addiction support.