OPINION (AN COLÚN): Ireland's homeless strategy has failed, therefore we should copy the Finnish model

You wouldn't think it from the news or from the pages of history but there is an awful lot of goodness and decency out there. It's important that we bear this in mind and not become cynical about human nature. Sure, there's plenty of evil and cunning in human minds but there's also a wonderful oasis of love and fair play. The advantage, I think, of local newspapers over the national media is that we draw our readers' attention to this human goodness much more frequently. Take for example Banagher's Corrinne Claffey Concannon, who we've mentioned a couple of times in The Midland and Tullamore Tribunes, and who said this week that she has been emotionally overwhelmed by the generosity of people throughout Offaly for their response to her new initiative, “A little bag of Kindness”.

Corrinne has been helping the homeless for over four years, bringing parcels of food to them on the streets of Dublin, as well as supporting families and various services in her own community and county.

Pupils in Banagher created Christmas cards to accompany Corrinne's parcels this year. “They made lovely cards,” said Corrinne, “to ensure every care package had a special message for the person it was distributed to."

She pointed out that currently the homeless crisis is at an all time high and more and more families are struggling to put food on the table every week. This acute problem is happening behind doors in Offaly and Tipperary, but in Dublin it's very evident on the streets. I was in the capital city over the weekend and I was shocked by the level of homelessness on the streets. We were coming across them every couple of hundred yards, either in tents or wrapped in blankets and holding out cups for money. The weather of course was bitter over the weekend and sleeping rough on the streets was no place to be. I saw one man bedding down for the night in his tent on Grafton Street.

Whatever about the cold, these people are also vulnerable to violent crime. Many of them, of course, have drug and alcohol addiction problems.

As I walked the streets I thought to myself that this is a blight on Ireland and how we run our country. We have been living with an acute level of this problem for many years now, since the collapse of the Celtic Tiger. There have been many promises to tackle the issue but we are not making any real inroads into it.

It's time to admit we have failed. We should look to other countries who have made a better fist of it. Take Finland for example. Their philosophy is called Housing First. The main thing about this philosophy is homeless people are treated like everybody else. The Finnish concept is that because we are all human beings we therefore all have the same rights. One of these rights is housing. Therefore, the Housing First principle means that you give a homeless person a home, a flat, or a rental flat with a contract, without preconditions. The homeless person is not required to solve his / her problems or get sober to get a permanent home. When they move into their new home, they can then get the support to solve their issues.

The Finnish approach has been a triumph. They now have the lowest rate of homelessness in Europe. Their aim is to completely end homelessness by 2027. The Finns point out that keeping people homeless, instead of providing homes for them, is always more expensive for society. They estimate that when a homeless person gets a permanent home, even with support, the cost savings for society are at least 15,000 Euros per one person per one year.

Corrinne would like to thank all those who donate supplies and would like to express her gratitude to everyone. If anyone would like to donate please email Corrinne on [email protected]