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The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, has today launched (Wednesday, 9 November) the Youth Homelessness Strategy 2023-2025. The first Youth Homelessness Strategy in two decades, it sets out 27 distinct actions to prevent young people entering homelessness, to improve the experiences of young people in emergency accommodation and to assist young people to exit homelessness.
The most recent monthly Homeless report, published in respect of September 2022, showed that 1,263 (17 %) of adults accessing Emergency Accommodation were aged 18-24. The Strategy recognises that, while it is an absolute priority to both prevent young people from becoming homeless in the first instance and to ensure prompt exits for those who are in emergency accommodation, consideration must also be given to improving the experiences of young people currently accessing homeless services.
The Strategy’s key measures include:
Designed in line with commitments in the Programme for Government and Housing for All, the government’s housing plan to 2030, the Strategy adopts a whole-of-government approach to tackling youth homelessness. It brings together a multitude of key stakeholders who will play a vital role in addressing the fundamental issues.
Recognising the importance of capturing a wide range of views to inform the Strategy, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage held a number of consultations in the first half of 2022. This included a public consultation, consultation with local authorities, and direct consultations with young people with experiences of homelessness.
Launching the new strategy at the Custom House today, Minister O’Brien said:
“This Youth Homelessness Strategy, the first in over 20 years, is an important action in the government’s work to eradicate homelessness.
“Last year on behalf of the Irish Government I signed a European Declaration on combatting homelessness and this Strategy will help us to deliver on that commitment.
“The rise in numbers of young people experiencing homelessness in recent years is very concerning. The Strategy acknowledges the importance of both appropriate accommodation for all young people and the provision of necessary supports, as required.
“Addressing youth homelessness is one of the key aims set out in Housing for All. I am fully focused on implementation of this Strategy. The scale of this Strategy is ambitious but, through collaboration with all stakeholders, the objectives will become a reality.”
Welcoming the strategy on behalf of the Irish Coalition to End Youth Homelessness, Adam Spollen of Focus Ireland said:
“The Irish Coalition to End Youth Homelessness welcomes the publication of the Youth Homelessness Strategy as a starting point from which we can work together to end youth homelessness in the coming years. The Coalition, which brings together the leading youth organisations and homeless NGOs with dedicated youth services, has campaigned for a national strategy on youth homelessness since 2017.
“We as a Coalition are happy to work together with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; Tusla; the HSE and local authorities to move this Strategy forward. The cooperation of stakeholders in an integrated approach is essential to achieve the aims of this Strategy.”
A commitment to producing a Youth Homelessness Strategy was contained in Housing for All and the Programme for Government.
The Irish Coalition to End Youth Homelessness is comprised of; Barnardos; BeLonG To LGBTQI+ Youth Ireland; Cope Galway; Crosscare; Depaul; EPIC; Focus Ireland; Foróige; Irish Traveller Movement; National Youth Council of Ireland; Novas; Peter McVerry Trust; Simon Communities of Ireland; Society of St. Vincent de Paul; Spunout; Teen Parents Support Programme; Threshold; Union of Students Ireland.
A Steering Group will be established under the auspices of the National Homelessness Action Committee (NHAC) to drive the delivery of actions set out in this Strategy and to monitor progress. This Group will meet on a regular basis and will be required to provide a progress report of actions at each quarterly NHAC meeting.
Membership of the Group will be reviewed annually, to ensure appropriate representation. The initial membership will consist of: