Single women becoming homeless at higher rate than single men, study finds

Single adult women are becoming homeless at a higher rate than single adult males, new research published by Focus Ireland and Trinity College Dublin has found.

While homeless adult-only households are predominantly male (75 per cent), the number of females has increased faster than males since 2014, at 171 per cent for females compared with 133 per cent for males.

The pattern has been pronounced in the last three years, with a 44 per cent increase in females as against 34 per cent for males, the research shows.

The new report is part of a series of reports Focus Ireland has published in partnership with the school of social policy at TCD.

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The report also revealed that the number of adult-only households experiencing homelessness in Ireland has risen by over 200 per cent since 2014.

The number of adult-only households in emergency accommodation increased from 1,962 in June 2014 to 6,000 in October 2023.

This increase primarily occurred in Dublin, which now accounts for 70 per cent of all homeless adult-only households.

There was no increase in homelessness in adult-only households outside of Dublin between 2018 and 2022, but this overall figure masks decreases in some regions and increases in others.

[ Average of 10 homeless people died each month during 2020 ]

[ Homeless groups warn against tightening access to emergency accommodation ]

Total numbers outside of Dublin started to increase last year, after this four-year pause.

Rising homelessness among adult-only households is not reflected in the numbers of such households on local authority housing waiting lists, which has remained relatively stable.

Nevertheless in 2022, adult-only households accounted for 56 per cent of households on waiting lists while only making up 23 per cent of all households.

In 2022, four adult-only households entered homelessness for every one that made a sustained exit.

The number of adult-only households “accepted as homeless” in Dublin, meaning they entered emergency accommodation or were offered supports, such as the housing assistance payment (HAP), has remained almost static at about 215 a month for the last six years.

“We are all familiar with the overall homeless figures which come out each month, which include single people and families with children… but because of the way figures are published, the pattern of homelessness among single people, or adults without accompanying children, has been much less visible,” Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen said.

[ Homeless figures hit new record with more than 4,000 children in emergency accommodation ]

[ Homeless man died metres away from one of Dublin’s main tourist attractions ]

Until April 2023, Government statistics did not publish a figure for homeless “adult-only households” and this had to be derived by subtracting the number of adults in homeless families from the total number of adults, Mr Allen explained.

“This report reveals a shocking picture in which single persons’ homelessness has been allowed to steadily increase, year on year, so that we now have triple the number of homeless single people than we did just a decade ago,” he said.

It was “even more striking” that single persons’ homelessness increased almost in a straight line for 10 years.

“Two changes in government, five different ministers, the introduction and removal of eviction bans, the collapse and recovery of housing construction, the launch of a successful Housing First programme, all have made little difference to the steady destructive upward trend,” Mr Allen said.

“Here is clear evidence that we need to radically rethink the way we are approaching single persons’ homelessness.”

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