Focus Ireland says Covid-19 should be looked at as a turning point for our housing crisis.
The charity's launched its annual report which shows it helped almost 1,800 households in 2019 that were homeless or at risk of falling into homelessness.
But considering the impact of Covid-19, the charity fears that figure will be higher for 2020.
CEO Pat Dennigan says housing protections like the eviction ban should be included in the Government's five level plan for living alongside the virus;
"We're proposing to Government, that as part of the changing levels within the restrictions, that some of that moratorium or some of those measures should be automatically re-introduced - and automatically removed", he told us.
.@FocusIreland thinks protections like the rent freeze and eviction ban should be automatically brought in when a county moves to a certain level of restrictions.
— Hannah Murphy (@hannahmurphnews) September 29, 2020
The charity says we should see the pandemic as a turning point in dealing with our housing and homeless crisis. pic.twitter.com/e7R4NowlLi
Scott Buckley contacted Focus Ireland after he left foster care.
He says it was exactly what he needed to get on the right path;
"Me mother passed away, then two years later me brother passed away.
"I was still in school. I was a walking disaster.
"I was literally suffering with everything. Anxiety, depression, you name it, Jesus, I had it.
"Being a part of Focus Ireland, they gave me the space I needed to do what I needed to do.
"They were never in me face or like 'do this" or 'do that'", he told us.
The charity says 14,200 people contacted them for support in 2019.
Visit our Covid-19 info hub for the latest news and information on the Covid-19 pandemic
