A helping hand for the homeless

Caroline (30) was a single parent with four children aged between 11 months and 10 years. That's a handful by any standards. But she had more problems than most mothers. When the children were driving her crazy, she couldn't go next door for tea and sympathy. When she had a miscarriage, she had no family or friends to rally around her. Caroline had more problems than most because she was homeless.

"When we see homeless people, we see the obvious problems, such as the fact that they don't have a roof over their heads," says Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, president of Focus Ireland. "But nobody looks any deeper. We don't see how stressed they are, for example."

A new study by Focus Ireland has found that more than two out of three homeless parents had very high stress levels. The interviewees told researchers they felt incompetent as parents and felt isolated.

The study, The Mental and Physical Health and Well-being of Homeless Families in Dublin, found that many parents suffered from low self-esteem and showed depressive symptoms.

Caroline became homeless because of ongoing violence from her partner. One day, she took her children and moved in with her mother.

However, family difficulties arose and they had to move to a hostel, where they stayed for two months. A local authority welfare officer worked closely with Caroline and the family was admitted to a family transition unit.

This is one of 22 housing units run by Focus Ireland to help homeless families make the transition to running a stable family home. Parents agree to take part in education, assessment and counselling as part of the programme.

Care workers noted Caroline's very low self-esteem and poor budgeting and home management skills. Her children's behaviour was also worrying.

The eldest child, Sharon (10), was suspicious and cautious. Paul (seven) was a very unhappy child and often seemed frustrated and upset. Shane (three) appeared to have a speech problem, while Mary (11 months) seemed withdrawn.

Sister Stanislaus says it is disturbing that families such as Caroline's do not have the support of spouses, partners, relatives or friends. "It's not surprising, therefore, that there is a consistent picture of highly stressed parents caring for their very young children who may be experiencing social, health and psychological problems."

One of the most worrying aspects of the study is that 25 per cent of the parents were homeless as children. "Now these children are on the slippery slope to instability and homelessness," Sister Stanislaus says.

Nearly all the families in the study were headed by women only. Many children were at a disadvantage even before they were born. Some 87 per cent of mothers smoked while pregnant and almost half the children were born after complicated pregnancies.

"The most appalling aspect of all this is that the number of families in similar situations is increasing daily," Sister Stanislaus says.

In 1984, there were 37 women, with 93 children, in Dublin hostels. Last year, 660 families, with 990 children, were classified as being homeless in the Dublin region.

In the short term, Focus Ireland has called for more emergency accommodation with proper facilities to meet people's needs. It also urges that the health boards in the Dublin area urgently set up primary health care teams for homeless people. In the longer term, Focus Ireland says more transitional housing is needed, as well as a house-building programme for homeless families.

Caroline has made some progress in the past year. She has shown greater confidence, and while she still has difficulties, her ability to cope has increased.

Of the children, Paul appears to have progressed the most. He has an excellent attendance at school and seems to be a happier child.

Sharon, on the other hand, has become more difficult in the past year. She has shown a poor attendance at school and has experienced difficulties with some other children in the unit. She is now attending a family centre.

The youngest children are attending the unit's nursery. Shane has also been getting speech therapy on a regular basis and shows marked improvement. Meanwhile, Mary is now an animated toddler.

Caroline and her children recently moved into local authority accommodation. However, the situation isn't yet perfect, and Focus Ireland is concerned she is not getting the necessary childcare support. The organisation will continue to work with Caroline for the next six months to help make the transition as smooth as possible.