Remember me
The mental health challenges, trauma and isolation being faced by homeless people face is mounting, the charity Depaul warned in its annual impact report on Tuesday.
One woman spoke of how she was helped by Depaul to recover her mental health, having been homeless and struggling with addiction.
“I was a broken person,” Amy said.
“I had little trust in people, no trust in myself. I could not assert myself. I isolated myself and was wary of people.”
She spent 10 months working with the charity’s counsellors.
She now credits the charity with “helping me become the woman I, as a child, wished to become — a woman I admire and respect.”
Almost 10,000 people were supported in Ireland and Northern Ireland by Depaul.
It saw a 25% increase in the number of one-to-one sessions for mental health and addiction support it held. This came to 50,027 sessions.
Last year, 706 people using its services reported mental health concerns, 257 disclosed suicidal thoughts. Frontline staff responded to 135 incidents of self-harm.
However, Niamh Thornton, senior services manager warned: “Demand is growing faster than resources allow, and without significant investment in mental health and addiction services, many people will continue to fall through the cracks.”
Depaul chief executive David Carroll: 'Homelessness is neither inevitable nor acceptable. Rising levels of mental health challenges, addiction, trauma and isolation are putting unprecedented pressure on our services.'The charity gives “stopgap mental health support” to people who cannot access HSE or private services, the report said. This includes helping people avoid being admitted to hospital by better managing their medications.
Overall, Depaul is now seeing mental health difficulties equal with drug or alcohol addiction as the most urgent issues facing homeless people.
Chief executive David Carroll said: “Homelessness is neither inevitable nor acceptable. Rising levels of mental health challenges, addiction, trauma and isolation are putting unprecedented pressure on our services.”
Among the people the charity helps are families evicted from private rental properties because they cannot keep up with rent increases. It also supports people leaving prison and people struggling with addiction.
“Public housing supply is far behind where it needs to be, and unfortunately, that will be the reality of the situation for some time,” he said.
He added that “homelessness and mental health issues are deeply connected”.
In addition, the charity raised concerns about over-reliance on temporary accommodation. This is, it cautioned, “a catastrophe in the making for society”.
Altogether, Depaul helped 9,836 people, including 2,424 children. It supported 1,012 people move out of homelessness, an increase of 39% from the year before.
Depaul called for sustained funding for the tenant-in-situ scheme and expansion of HSE and Tusla supports for vulnerable children, among other changes.
Mr Carroll urged: “Budget 2026 is a defining moment. Without decisive action, Ireland risks locking in a legacy of entrenched homelessness for generations.”
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing said more than 16,000 people, including over 5,000 children, were in emergency accommodation.
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