In light of the latest record spike in rental prices which shows that prices rose by a hefty 4.4 % in the past four months, a Limerick Cllr has reiterated her calls that children who are in emergency accommodation for longer than six months should be entitled to counselling.
Aontú Cllr Sarah Beasley says
“These latest hikes are absolutely huge. For them to jump that much in just four months must be absolutely terrifying for people already struggling just to stand still and keep up with the ever rising prices”.
“The issues that prolonged homelessness are causing and will cause down the line are absolutely seismic.
“Homeless children are extremely vulnerable and really their development is being arrested. They have no security, they have no privacy, they can’t invite others round for play dates, sleepovers, the normal things that children do and that so many can take for granted”.
“They feel shame, they feel different, they feel ‘othered’ which will often carry through to their adult lives. This stigma sadly can’t but leave indelible marks. The terrible insecurity that living in homeless accommodation causes will most likely result in attachment issues and other psychological issues for these unfortunate children”.
These children need a professional ear to help them navigate their feelings safely, and I passionately believe that counselling is the only way forward in the interim to try and help them make sense of the terrible situation they’re in, through absolutely no fault of their own.
By its very nature emergency should mean emergency, not a protracted and wholly unsuitable arrangement.
To think that there are now 5,319 children homeless in Ireland is a shocking shame.
It is a stain on our country, but tragically the stain will remain with those poor children who are traumatised by their experience.
They won’t be able to easily forget the turmoil and vulnerability of homelessness and having to stay in emergency accommodation”.
I am repeating my calls on the Government to provide funding for professional therapy sessions for these children who need it desperatley”.
