'Immense pressure' on families experiencing homelessness as children return to school

The return to school will put ‘immense pressure’ on families experiencing homelessness, The Salvation Army has said.

The charity sits on the frontline of the housing crisis, and it said they have experienced parents who often have to seek alternative schools for their children, closer to the emergency accommodation they were placed in.

The Salvation Army say that in cases where that is not possible, travelling to existing schools can involve 6 am starts and taking multiple forms of transport.

This all comes as the Department of Housing’s homeless statistics were released on Friday, showing that there are now 1,871 families experiencing homelessness in Dublin alone, and this includes 4,089 children.

Anthony Byrne, service manager at the Houben House family hub in Harold’s Cross, said: “The change in living circumstances can cause huge upheaval and places immense pressure on families. Added to that pressure is a child born into homelessness, starting school for the first time and being asked where they live – in many cases they will not want to disclose that they are in emergency accommodation.

“That scenario can cause stress for children because they are not permitted to bring friends over for play dates, sleepovers or birthday parties, which is a normal rite of passage for most kids. That’s where our staff and key workers come in to try to navigate around those issues.”

A former resident at Houben House told the Salvation Army that her routine would consist of two-hour bus journeys every morning, dropping her three children to different schools, repeated in the afternoon.

She said: “My pre-school is off at 11.50 am, my son is off at 1.30 pm and my daughter is off at 2.30 pm. If it wasn’t for the local resource centre, I’d literally be standing on the streets all day.”