LATER THIS AFTERNOON, the emergency accommodation figures for the month of September will be released. 

Last month, the figures reached a record high of 16,353, including some 5,145 children who were in emergency accommodation in August. 

Each month seems to bring a new high and Ber Grogan, the executive director of Simon Communities of Ireland, told The Journal that the “increases are shameful and shocking”.

“There’s nothing to indicate the numbers will decrease,” said Grogan, “and even if they do, there’s more than 5,100 children going to be spending Halloween in emergency accommodation.” 

She expressed hope that the experiences of children living in emergency accommodation will be highlighted today as the release of the monthly figures coincides with Halloween.

“Families should be planning fun activities this weekend, not counting how many nights they have left in an emergency bed.”

The Simon Communities of Ireland is a network of communities across the country that provide homeless, housing and treatment services to people facing homelessness. 

It also engages in advocacy and policy work around homelessness and is supported by the Department of Housing. 

The Government’s revised Housing for All plan was due to be published this month and Grogan noted that it is still outstanding.

She called on the government to ensure that children who are missing out this Halloween won’t be in the same position come Christmas. 

Other homeless charities also criticised the delay in the revised Housing for All plan, and the government was also rounding condemned following the Budget for failing to mention homelessness in the Budget speeches.

‘Try their best for the children’

Grogan noted that “normal day-to-day things other kids are getting to do” over Halloween, like picking a costume and trick-or-treating, won’t be possible for many children in emergency accommodation. 

While she said each holiday is a stark reminder of homelessness for families, this is especially so at Halloween because “Christmas is just around the corner”.

Grogan adds that children should be creating fun childhood memories, getting dressed up and talking about Halloween plans.

“These are the types of conversations families and kids should be having, ‘what do you want to get dressed up as? What are your friends dressing up as?’”

There’s an “inclusivity” to being part of the community around Halloween, knocking on doors and putting up decorations, she said.

“But if you’re in a hotel room, you can’t do this and it’s such a different experience.”

“Halloween is just another example of how thousands of children are having their childhood experiences robbed from them.”

However, she said many services and families “always try their best for the children”.

“Some family hubs will have decorations up and staff will make an effort and trick-or-treat,” said Grogan.

“People make an additional effort when they know children are missing out on something like this.

“There certainly will be children who, even though they’re going through the trauma of homelessness, are maybe going to have a fun time today and they can forget, to a certain extent, about the fact they don’t have their forever home.”

However, she added that this will depend heavily on the types of emergency accommodation the children are in.

“If you’re in Simon Community Family Hub in the Midwest, for example, there is going to be that effort to make the service seem as homely and as festive as possible. 

“But some people are being accommodated in hotel rooms and B&B’s and private emergency accommodation – with the for-profit operators, it’s just accommodation.

“You’re not getting any of the wraparound support services you would if you were in one of the NGO services.”

‘Hits home for children and parents’

Stephen Moffatt, national policy manager at Barnardos, remarked that while it’s tough for those living in emergency accommodation most of the time, there’s certain periods that are more of a struggle.

Barnardos supports families and children experiencing poverty and homelessness.

He said simple things like trick-or-treating “just isn’t possible in some emergency accommodation” and that children “pick up on the fact there are no decorations”.

“Most emergency accommodation settings wouldn’t allow any decorations to be put up,” said Moffatt.

“Children are conscious of the fact they don’t have a home where they can have decorations.

“It’s also a realisation for parents – parents in emergency accommodation want their children to have a normal Halloween experience, but it’s just so difficult.”

He also noted that for many young children, “this is all they’ve known and that in itself is very distressing for parents”.

“That’s when parents take a step back and say, ‘I can’t believe this, my child doesn’t know any different’.

“And for children themselves, sometimes it’s just another realisation that they’re not experiencing what their peers are.”

While Moffatt remarked that many parents will try to give their children this experience over holidays like Halloween and Christmas, this can only go so far for many in emergency accommodation settings “where there can be a lot of rules and regulations”.

“That really does hit home for children and parents.”

‘Missing out’

Niamh Thornton, senior services manager at Depaul Ireland, also remarked that holidays “bring into focus the fact a lot of families living in emergency accommodation don’t have access to the same opportunities to celebrate”.

Depaul is a charity that assists people who are homeless or at risk or homelessness.

“We work really hard to make our services as homely as we can,” said Thornton.

“We will have Halloween parties and stuff to try bring as much of that experience as we can to the children.

“But it’s not the same as them being able to do that in their own home and being able to go out with friends, knocking on doors and having people knocking on their door.”

She warned that missing out on such childhood experiences could impact children’s “development and socialising”.

“They may have been settled in a school prior to becoming homeless, and then they’re in emergency accommodation far away from that,” said Thornton.

“Their friends do not live in the same location and it’s not as easy to get involved in activities over the midterm break or holiday periods.

“That has a significant impact on children and we need to break that cycle of homelessness.”