Use of ‘hubs’ could normalise family homelessness, human rights body warns

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has expressed concern that the use of family “hubs” may normalise family homelessness.

Chief commissioner Emily Logan said: “Family hubs, while a positive step, are only appropriate for short-time, emergency accommodation.”

Hubs are used as an alternative to hotels and B&Bs, offering accommodation for a number of families in one location, with cooking and play facilities, as well as on-site supports such as homework clubs.

Ms Logan said hubs played an important role in alleviating homelessness and “represent a significant improvement compared to the practice of housing families in hotels and bed & breakfast accommodation”.

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However, Ms Logan said the commission “remains concerned that the continued use of family hubs could serve to normalise family homelessness and contribute to institutionalisation.

“The primary policy response to family homelessness must be to ensure that every family has access to permanent suitable accommodation.”

She was speaking at the publication of the 2016 annual report of the Simon Communities of Ireland. The report found the number of people seeking help from the Simon Community grew by one-third in 2016, and is set to worsen this year.

The charity said it worked with more than 11,000 people, including 1,417 families with 2,860 children, who were experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness during 2016.

Simon provided 1,150 people with emergency accommodation; 4,547 people with prevention, intervention and advice services; and 2,925 people with specialist treatment and support services.

Niamh Randall, national spokeswoman, said the housing and homelessness crisis had worsened this year.

“Today we are reporting the number of people we worked with last year increasing to 11,005 people; this is an increase of a third in just one year” she said.

Ms Randall said this Christmas at least 8,500 men, women and children would be trapped in emergency accommodation and that many thousands more are living with housing insecurity.

Ms Randall said although some people in Dublin had managed to secure rented accommodation “the absence of affordable and social housing or an accessible private rental sector [means] the majority have nowhere to go”.

The charity said the State must start looking at the housing and homeless crisis from a human-rights based approach.

“Housing is a fundamental right that facilitates the enjoyment of so many other rights including health, education, employment, privacy and family life,” Ms Randall said.

“The Government can and must do better in 2018. . . . we need to move away from the private sector commodification of housing.”

Simon has called on the Government to give a clear decision early in 2018 on whether it will make a commitment to providing a Constitutional right to housing.

Ms Randall said it was disappointing the State had referred a Bill on the issue to committee, “but we will be asking the Government to make a clear decision on that as soon as possible”.