Homeless people in Cavan 'hiding' in squats and on sofas
There are seven people classed as ‘homeless’ in County Cavan, The Anglo-Celt can reveal but that figure jumps to 170 when so-called ‘sofa surfers’ are factored in.
Michael Loughman from the organisation Sleep Out Cavan has said that the problem is somewhat invisible in the Breffni county because “they are hiding away in squats and sofa surfing”.
He said that high rents are putting families under enormous pressure and said there is a huge need for a homeless shelter in Cavan Town.
Michael was speaking to the Celt at Dunnes Stores this week at the handover of 30 sleeping bags to ‘Sleep Out Cavan’.
At the presentation of the items in the Cavan Town store last week, the Manager Kevin O’Reilly complimented Michael Loughman and Sleep Out Cavan on their work on behalf of homeless people.
Michael thanked Dunnes for their sponsorship. “This is a great help. They will be used on the streets of Dublin tomorrow night – there will be somebody in them,” he said.
“Originally we set up to help the homeless in Dublin. We are doing 70 bags of clothes per month but now we are helping people here in Cavan – families who are under pressure financially, can't afford clothes, they are coming to us. It is true that some children have no shoes, there are families that are in a very bad way in this county. We are supplying a serious amount of clothes,” Michael revealed.
Sleep Out Cavan now has a Clothes Depot in two rooms at the old St Patrick's College Complex and it supplies clothes to the homeless and families who are struggling to make ends meet.
“There is such a demand on families. The rents are so high. When that is paid, people on low incomes are really struggling. Social workers and people from TUSLA come here to get clothes for families,” said Michael.
He revealed that donations of clothing and footwear come in from all over Cavan and also from neighbouring counties; while hotels also donate items of clothing left behind by guests.
“We go out around the county and give talks about the homeless situation to various organisations. We outline how people become homeless – how to treat people in that situation and not look down on them,” said Michael.
There was a night shelter in Cavan Town operated by the St Vincent de Paul but it closed four years ago. The shelter closed its doors at the end of September 2018 - citing a number of factors including financial pressures, declining numbers accessing the shelter and new regulations that meant it would have to be completely refurbished.
A Cavan Town Council meeting in May 2010 noted that the county town was in the enviable position of having little or no homeless people thanks to the excellent work being carried out by the volunteers of the SVP night shelter just off Bridge Street.
The latest official numbers in the north east region, from July 2018, show that there were seven adults in County Cavan availing of emergency accommodation.
If anybody wants to contact Sleep Out Cavan, to access help or to make donations, contact 085-7742027.