Report Launch: Pathways towards Stable Housing for Parents & Children Exiting Residential Services

18 Jun 2024

This seminar reported on the findings of the project Pathways towards Stable Housing for Parents & Children Exiting Residential Services.

This project, which was funded by the Housing Agency Research Support Programme, was conducted in collaboration with Childhood Matters in the Bessborough Centre. Childhood Matters provides multidisciplinary assessments of parenting capacity within a residential setting.

This research documents the necessity of including parents and children exiting tertiary services, who are facing homelessness and housing instability, in future policy development. A viable and practical model for successful transition from residential services to living in the community is needed in Ireland. Currently, there are few pathways available to people, and particularly families, who are exiting residential settings and facing housing precarity, instability or homelessness.

By amalgamating the views of service users, staff in NGOs and local authorities, data of homeless service use and the economics of homeless services, a model for supported housing aimed at assisting families, who may have complex needs, exiting residential settings into accommodation in the community was developed. A supported housing model, as proposed by this research, hopes to bridge the gap that exists for families exiting residential settings and returning to the community.

To read the report in full please click on the link below. 

Pathways to Stable Housing  

For more on this story contact:

Dr Margaret Buckley