Some very dangerous people on leaving prison and psychiatric hospitals roam the streets freely and rarely attend hospital for medication, the Forum was told. According to Ms Alice Leahy, director of Trust, which provides a medical social service for homeless people, based in Dublin, there is a need for properly supervised halfway house-type accommodation for this group of people. Accommodation should be long term, with no pressure to move until an equally secure place was made available.
People who were released from psychiatric hospitals into unsupervised accommodation in vulnerable communities or in hostels were left open to attack and in some cases fearful for their lives, Ms Leahy said.
People became homeless on leaving prison because of inadequate planning, especially for those having served long sentences, and because of family problems and community prejudices. Many ended up homeless for the first time on leaving prison, frequently discharged as they went in, some in rags, with nothing arranged.
The Trust group would recommend that all prisoners on discharge who had a drug problem or, indeed, a medical problem be appropriately referred and suitable accommodation arranged. "The perceived free availability of methadone should be investigated," she commented.
There was an increased alienation of large sections of the community in a time of increased prosperity, particularly young, poorly educated people.
Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, making a submission on behalf of Focus, which provides services for homeless people, said she wanted to emphasise that not everybody who was homeless broke the law. The vast majority did not. There were many people who were not poor who broke the law and were getting away with it.
There were certain people who were at risk of becoming homeless, including those sent out of psychiatric hospitals. Those leaving prison had no back-up when they left, no address, no contact. These people were at risk of becoming homeless and of committing crime, she said.
Focus dealt with 6,000 people last year and the numbers were increasing radically. The focus had to be in prevention and early intervention, she said.