Monday, 2 March 2020

THE FEAR IS THAT- CORONAVIRUS WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY AMONG IRELAND’S HOMELESS POPULATION.

THE FEAR IS THAT- CORONAVIRUS WILL SPREAD RAPIDLY AMONG IRELAND’S HOMELESS POPULATION.

Infectious diseases among homeless populations


International studies have repeatedly shown that incidence of a range of infectious diseases is higher in homeless people than in the general population. Local studies are needed to inform service planning and provision

THE NUMBER OF homeless adults and children living in state-funded emergency accommodation in Ireland has risen again, latest figures show. 

 UPDATE LINKS:

 https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2020/0303/1119921-coronavirus/ 

 https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/coronavirus-spread-accelerates-in-middle-east-europe-and-south-korea/ar-BB10FA8B?ocid=spartandhp 

 https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0303/1119831-cabinet-meeting/
https://www.rte.ie/news/

 https://www.bbc.com/news

 https://www.reuters.com/investigates/


 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/south-korea-seeks-coronavirus-murder-charges-over-3000-dead-worldwide-idUSKBN20P1LO

 https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/coronavirus-news-–-live-uk-sees-spike-in-infections-as-health-minister-admits-virus-sweeping-country-is-inevitable-and-global-death-toll-hits-3000/ar-BB10CsmW?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=spartandhp

 https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/mary-lou-mcdonald-reveals-her-own-children-attend-coronavirus-hit-school-public-meetings-postponed-985246.html

The March homeless report from the Department of Housing shows an increase of four adults and 37 children living in emergency accommodation in the state. 

There were 6,484 homeless adults and 3,821 children living in this type of accommodation last month, giving a combined total of 10,305 people.

This is the highest number on record since the Department started recording these numbers, making it the third consecutive month that the record has been surpassed. 

Of the total number, the vast majority are in Dublin. There were, a total of 4,315 adults and 2,806 children in homeless emergency accommodation in Dublin last month. 
The De Paul Night Shelter For Men At Back Lane
Christchurch Dublin 8.
“We continue to put considerable efforts in to prevent people from entering emergency accommodation, while also exiting as many families and individuals from homelessness as possible each month,” Housing Minister Murphy said. 

The government was roundly criticised by opposition politicians and NGOs for its record on homelessness. The Fine Gael / Independent government has overseen significant rises in homelessness since it took power.

The number of homeless children has risen by over 1,000 and the number of homeless adults has jumped by about 2,4000 since May 2016, when the government came into power. 

“Once again we have seen further increases in the number of people that are homeless across the state. This is a clear indication that homeless services are failing the most vulnerable in our society and Rebuilding Ireland [the government's Housing Action Plan] has been a total failure,” CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless Anthony Flynn said. 

The homelessness crisis has increased year on year and we are now in the midst of the worst levels of homelessness in the history of the state and Minister Murphy and his department are directly responsible for this.

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin also said that the government’s housing plan wasn’t working and called for mass protests calling for a new housing policy.

“Until the government accepts that Rebuilding Ireland is not working and implements a new -housing policy things are going to get worse. But only mass mobilisation on the streets and pressure in the Dáil and Council can secure this,” he said. 

Rough sleepers

Today also saw the publication of figures from the spring rough sleeper count. The count aims to assess the number of people sleeping rough in Dublin on a single night in April.

It found a total of 128 people sleeping rough on the night of 9 and early morning of 10 April. This marks a decrease of 28 from the winter rough sleeper count in November.

However, it marks a rise of 18 on the spring count last year, which is more directly comparable. 

Of the people found to be rough sleeping in Dublin, 75% were male and 25% were female. 

Just under 80% were Irish nationals, while 21% were non-Irish nationals, excluding a total of 29 people whose nationality was not identified. 

Commenting on the numbers, Eileen Gleeson – director of the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive – said that the large number of people sleeping rough was a “serious area of concern”. 

“We have been working with our charity partners to increase emergency accommodation, and have increased capacity by 250 permanent beds,” she said. 

The essential response to address the needs of people sleeping rough is the provision of more long-term housing solutions for individuals and couples. 

Introduction

Nationally in England, the number of people sleeping rough is estimated to have risen by 23%, on average, between autumn 2010 and autumn 2011 (Crisis, 2012).

People who are homeless die 30 years before reaching the national average life expectancy (Crisis, 2011) and, compared with the general population, they also have a higher prevalence of infectious diseases, associated with malnutrition, long periods of homelessness and high use of medical services.

HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis are the most heavily studied infectious diseases among homeless populations. However, high rates of other infectious diseases - such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, diphtheria, foot problems and skin infections - have also been reported.

New evidence

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 43 studies (four of which are from the UK), involving 59,736 homeless people, assessed the prevalence of TB, hepatitis C virus and HIV in this population between 1984 and 2012 (Beijer et al, 2012). Results showed that homeless people have a much higher likelihood of having one of these three diseases than the general population, although there was considerable variation between the studies.

In the United States, the prevalence of TB was at least 46 times greater in the homeless population than in the general population, and the prevalence of hepatitis C viral infection was increased approximately four-fold. In the UK, the prevalence of TB was at least 34 times greater in homeless people than in the general population, and the prevalence of hepatitis C viral infection was approximately 50 times greater.

HIV prevalence was typically 1-20 times higher in homeless people in the US than in the general population, but no studies were found in the UK. However, there was considerable heterogeneity between studies, suggesting the need for locally based studies to inform service planning and public health measures.

Of the 17 studies of TB included in the review, 15 reported TB prevalence being higher than 0.25%, suggesting that universal screening of homeless populations could be considered. The prevalence of TB was higher in studies in which chest radiography was used for diagnosis than in those in which other diagnostic methods were used. The reviewers suggested that screening programmes should not be restricted to people presenting to health services with symptoms, which happens less and later in marginalised groups than in general populations.

The prevalence of TB in homeless people was positively associated with prevalence in the general population, but this relation did not hold for hepatitis C virus and HIV. The reviewers highlighted this result as potentially important from a public health perspective because it suggests,
Hundreds of Children Are Among Ireland's Homeless Population.
that general population measures to reduce rates of hepatitis C virus and HIV infections might not equate to lower prevalence in homeless people. They suggested that more effective treatment and management should be considered including syringe and needle-exchange programmes, first-aid centres in large cities and annual snapshot interventions for homeless populations.





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