FIGURES from Limerick homeless services provider Novas Initiatives indicate that 59 families are living in B&B’s throughout the city and county.
And, with Novas stating that the numbers of families living in B&Bs is “rising daily”, local Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan has accused the government of deserting Limerick families.
“Despite all the promises and commitments made by Government there are now 59 families in emergency B&B accommodation in Limerick,” Deputy Quinlivan said.
“This clearly demonstrates that the government has not got the number of new families presenting as homeless each month under control. For every family that exits homelessness another is there to take its place. My constituency office continues to be inundated by families with nowhere to go. This is very distressing for all involved,” he declared.
Meanwhile, Novas Head of Policy and Communications Una Burns, referred to families living as “hidden homeless”, sofa-surfing and living in overcrowded and substandard accommodation periods of time before presenting as homeless.
“This type of arrangement inevitably breaks down and young families are forced to present as homeless. Due to the dearth of both social housing and rented accommodation in the city, families are placed in B&B’s,” she said.
Facing the reality of life in a hotel room.
One woman who finds herself coping with the stark reality of life in a bed and breakfast environment is Joanne Molloy, a 31-year-old mother of two young children, who has been living in a hotel since April.
Joanne considers herself one of the lucky ones when she sees people sleeping on the streets of the city she calls home.
“When I see people on the street, they are a lot worse off than me. I know they have their issues, but you just think they might not have a hope. It’s like they are forgotten about,” Joanne told the Limerick Post.
Joanne has been moved once since first living in the hotel and says there are others in the same situation for more than a year who have been moved a number of times.
With a young family, she finds the disruption difficult to cope with.
“There is no stability for the kids, there’s no routine. There is no chance to settle in because we don’t know if the hotel will be full and we might be forced to move again”.
Novas’ Intensive Family Support service has a dedicated B&B worker who supports families living in this type of accommodation with homework clubs, transporting children to school, accessing long-term accommodation, life-skills and money management.
Although grateful for everything Novas has done, as well as the accommodation offered by the hotel, Ms Molloy believes it shouldn’t fall on voluntary organisations to help people in these situations and the Government should be doing more to solve the homeless crisis.
“If you think about the cost of staying in a hotel each week – these people could be helped by getting them suitable rented accommodation. I think it is wasted money from the government, especially when you see the number of houses boarded up,” she explained.
She told the Limerick Post that she battles with her mental health but, with the range of supports offered by organisations such as Novas among others, she feels has come a long way in the past four years.
“There is a lot of anxiety intrying to deal with finding a house, the pressure of it puts stress on me”.
With hopes of completing her Leaving Cert through the VTOS programme, she would like to be out of the emergency accommodation, giving her children aged eleven and eight their own space as well as a place where she can focus on her studies.
“For the first week, it was a novelty to my kids. Now whenever we visit a friend or family, they ask can they stay there, they don’t want to be in the hotel. It’s very difficult for them.
“At night, it is tough. If one person is awake, we are all awake. My kids are finding it so tough they are crying every night; there is no personal space for them. They are out of routine and are playing up a lot more. They aren’t settled,” said Joanne.
“I know there are supports there, and they do great work, but I just feel the people in power need to do more” she added.
Read similar stories in the Limerick Post Community and Politics section.
