Only one quarter of women and children in Galway get refuge

Only 200 of the almost 800 women and children who sought safety from domestic violence could be accommodated by County Galway’s leading homeless charity last year.

In its annual report, COPE Galway said that the limitations of the current refuge services in the city and county seriously affected the organisation’s ability to respond to demand.

A significant rise in demand for domestic violence services, up 11% on the 2012 figure, is one of the most startling aspects of the report as the organisation provided safety and supports for 669 women and children throughout the year.

“More people were looking for a service, but we were able to accommodate less,” said COPE Galway CEO Jacquie Horan yesterday.

“The really big problem was that people were not able to move on from refuges or temporary accommodation.”

COPE Galway accommodated 346 single people and families who were homeless last year, and provided support for over 650 people who were affected by homelessness.

“While this represents an overall increase of 12%  in the numbers of people presenting for help in our homeless services, the numbers we were able to accommodate in emergency hostels were less than in 2012 (down 9%),” said Ms Horan.

“The reason for this is that a lack of affordable move on accommodation meant that people stayed longer in emergency accommodation (on average 50% longer) because they could not find suitable accommodation to move into.”

She said many people in Galway faced the threat of being made homeless last year after their landlords issued notice to quit, either to raise the rent or to sell properties.

“Rising rents, notice to quit and an inability to secure alternative accommodation are causing an ever increasing number of families to become homeless, many for the first time,” she told the Connacht Tribune.

She said the situation had reached “crisis point” due to rising rents and the lack of construction of new homes. Many properties available for rent in Galway were not accessible to those on social welfare and in recent of rent allowance.

As recently as last month, there were 45 families and 20 single people seeking accommodation with COPE’s assistance, yet effectively there was only one house available.

However, there was also good news for COPE Galway last year when the Sisters of Mercy donated a convent on Forster Street for use by the homeless charity.

Although the new refuge will not be available until 2016, Ms Horan said it would provide a massive boost to the organisation with the development of ten self-contained units.

“This will be renovated to provide a state of the art refuge which will cater for demand and offer much improved facilities in a location which is ideal both in terms of safety and access to local services and supports.”

Throughout last year, COPE also helped older people across Galway, supporting healthy aging at home and lunch clubs which allow people to come together.

Ms Horan thanked all of the people who support COPE’s work across the city and county.

“With ongoing support, COPE Galway can continue to highlight and address the issues facing the most vulnerable in our community,” she added.