A home, a job and more social activities - particularly in the evening time - were identified as the most important things to improve the situation of homeless people, a survey in Cork city has found.
According to the survey commissioned by Cork Simon Community, homeless people all wanted their own home with many feeling that landlords treated them very badly through charging high rents for substandard buildings.
"The position of young males is seen as particularly difficult, but all respondents wanted their own home," said author Owen O'Reilly who interviewed 31 homeless people in Cork for survey firm Franklin Research.
Many also stressed the importance of work in their recovery. Most did not have a job and, of those that did, almost all worked for Cork Simon.
Many felt that giving Cork Simon as their address prevented them getting work because of the stigma of homelessness.
"For many people, one of the hardest things to combat is isolation. People may be trying to rebuild their lives but, if they are isolated from their friends and families, they may have very few visitors and the subsequent feelings of loneliness and boredom are hard to take.
"A lack of available evening and social facilities for homeless people in Cork was highlighted," said Mr O'Reilly who carried out the research at Cork Simon locations with the aim of giving a voice to people who use Cork Simon projects.
The survey found that people became homeless for a wide variety of reasons, including rape, bereavement, institutional abuse, depression and health problems.
A majority of respondents reporting that addiction was a very significant factor.
Details of the survey were presented yesterday at a conference organised by Cork Simon entitled The Caring City? Ending Homelessness in Cork.
