Focus Ireland has launched a new hard-hitting campaign to highlight the trauma the homelessness crisis is causing to nearly 4,000 children in Ireland.
The emotive campaign will project life-size images of children who are homeless on to a number of landmark buildings in Dublin to highlight the crisis.
The number of homeless children has shot up by a shocking 356% in five years.
As part of the projection campaign, the charity captured video and photography of people’s reactions to the stark images projected on the walls, much of which was shock and disbelief at the true reality of the situation in Ireland.
Writing in Focus Ireland’s Annual Report 2018 the charity’s founder Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy called for more Government action to end homelessness.
She said: “The consistent response by the Government in recent years to homelessness has been to say that it takes time to tackle the crisis.
"However, the nearly 4,000 children who are homeless don’t have time.
"They are having their childhood’s stolen by homelessness and every day spent homeless is doing them harm.”
Rachel Murphy, Co-Director of Fundraising at Focus Ireland said of the new campaign: “We want to make sure that people realise just because they don’t see children on the street it does not mean there aren’t thousands homeless.
"Latest figures show nearly 4,000 homeless nationwide. They are living in emergency accommodation such as hotels and family hubs and there has been much research carried out by Focus Ireland and the likes of the Children’s Ombudsman’s’ Office which clearly shows the damage this is causing to children.”
She added: “Focus Ireland firmly believes that homelessness can be ended if the right actions are taken and this campaign is calling on people to go to www.outofsight.iewww.outofsig to read our 4 point plan to end homelessness"We are calling on the public and politicians on all sides to work together as together we can end this heart-breaking human crisis.”
