Development of homelessness policy and services at national level
Introduction:
There is no universally accepted definition of a homeless person, but the Housing Act (1988) suggests that a person should be considered to be homeless if there is no accomodation available that, in the opinion of the local authority, you and any other person who normally lives with you or who might reasonably be expected to live with you, can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of, or if you are living in a hospital, county home, night shelter or other such institution, and you are living there because you have no suitable accommodation or you are, in the opinion of the local authority, unable to provide accommodation from your own resources.
Even though there have been a lot of changes in homeless policies in Ireland, homelessness remains a huge problem. This essay will discuss the development of homelessness policies and …show more content…
Considine and Dukelow (2009) state that until the 1980s the issue of homelessness was primarily understood as a personal condition, therefore it was a little official concern. The 1988 Housing Act gave local authorities responsibility in terms of assisting the homeless. Curry (2011) states that local authorities were not obliged to provide accommodation for homeless people, but they were given power to provide a range of suitable accommodation. Furthermore, Act obliged housing authorities to measure homelessness via Housing Needs Assessments every three years, consider the extent of it and then develop responses that would have positive outcomes. What finally resulted from the Housing Act, 1988, was that the local authorities had responsibility for the provision of emergency, temporary and permanent accommodation for homeless persons agen over eighteen years, with healtboards having responsibility for the health and in-house care needs of such
Introduction:
There is no universally accepted definition of a homeless person, but the Housing Act (1988) suggests that a person should be considered to be homeless if there is no accomodation available that, in the opinion of the local authority, you and any other person who normally lives with you or who might reasonably be expected to live with you, can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of, or if you are living in a hospital, county home, night shelter or other such institution, and you are living there because you have no suitable accommodation or you are, in the opinion of the local authority, unable to provide accommodation from your own resources.
Even though there have been a lot of changes in homeless policies in Ireland, homelessness remains a huge problem. This essay will discuss the development of homelessness policies and …show more content…
Considine and Dukelow (2009) state that until the 1980s the issue of homelessness was primarily understood as a personal condition, therefore it was a little official concern. The 1988 Housing Act gave local authorities responsibility in terms of assisting the homeless. Curry (2011) states that local authorities were not obliged to provide accommodation for homeless people, but they were given power to provide a range of suitable accommodation. Furthermore, Act obliged housing authorities to measure homelessness via Housing Needs Assessments every three years, consider the extent of it and then develop responses that would have positive outcomes. What finally resulted from the Housing Act, 1988, was that the local authorities had responsibility for the provision of emergency, temporary and permanent accommodation for homeless persons agen over eighteen years, with healtboards having responsibility for the health and in-house care needs of such