Public asked to back campaign to end homelessness

Members of the public are being urged to sign up to a campaign to end homelessness by the end of the decade.

The MakeRoom Campaign - it is being spearheaded by Focus Ireland, the Simon Communities of Ireland, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and Threshold - says that with strong political leadership, public support and adequate resources, homelessness can be ended by 2010.

Yesterday a number of celebrities, broadcasters and entrepreneurs urged members of the public to log on to the campaign's website (www.makeroom.ie) and sign their name.

Among those present at the launch of the latest phase of the campaign included broadcaster and journalist Vincent Browne, RTÉ fashion presenter Caroline Morahan, founders of the property website Daft.ie Éamonn and Brian Fallon, and You're a Star presenter Brian Ormond.

The campaign's spokesman, Bob Jordan, said that a strong public response to the campaign would send a clear message to the political establishment.

The message which should be sent was that more emphasis should be placed on tackling homelessness.

"With a general election just around the corner, we want our politicians to know that it is unacceptable that thousands of people are without a home and face major difficulties in securing suitable housing.

"It is crucial that as many people as possible sign up to the campaign and bring pressure to bear on our politicians to realise the 2010 target," said Mr Jordan.

"We're simply asking members of the public to log on to our website where they can sign a simple pledge and add their voice to the hundreds of others who have joined the campaign since October."

By ending homelessness the campaign envisages a situation where nobody will sleep rough, nobody will stay in emergency accommodation for longer than is necessary and nobody will become homeless because of a lack of appropriate services.

Latest estimates suggest that anything between 5,000 and 6,000 people in Ireland are homeless. There are thousands more on waiting lists for social housing.