Submission to inform the DSP Statement of Strategy 2016-2019.

Introduction
The Simon Communities in Ireland welcome the opportunity to make this Submission to the Department
of Social Protection (DSP) to inform the development of their Statement of Strategy from 2016 to 2019.
The Simon Communities work with over 7,500 people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness each
year. We are now over half way through 2016 and the numbers of people who are homeless continue to
grow; with the numbers entering homelessness greater than the numbers exiting. This housing and
homeless crisis is impacting every region and community around the country. It is a nationwide crisis, more
acute in our urban centres but certainly present in our rural areas too. The number of people trapped in
emergency accommodation has continued to grow in the first seven months of 2016. During one week in
June 2016 (latest available figures), there were 6,358 men, women and children in emergency
accommodation across the country; a 32 % increase from the same week in June 2015. This included 2,695
adults with no dependents in their care and 1,078 families made up of 1,457 adults and 2,206 children.