But when I pause to consider what their lives must be like, I want to help in any way I can. In most cases, it's not their fault that they are homeless. With such enormous numbers of homeless people, each person on the street belongs to a larger epidemic (or widespread disease affecting the community), which is beyond any individual's power to control.
The homelessness epidemic is caused more by large-scale economic reasons than by personal factorssuch as addictions or mental health issues. These reasons include a lack of affordable housing, unemployment and poverty. In recent years, the number of homeless people in Dublin has increased because there are not enough properties available to rent. Not only is there a shortage of properties, but rents are often too high for families to afford. When families or individuals can no longer pay their rent, they find themselves out on the streets, unable to find new accommodation. In many cases, these families never imagined that they would one day be homeless. Unfortunately, the groups that are already most vulnerable are most affected by the factors that lead to homelessness. Single parents, migrants and recent immigrants are most likely to lose their homes.
Many people in Dublin are looking to the government to help address the homelessness crisis. The Minister for Housing, Eoghan (pronounced "OW-AN") Murphy, says the government is doing "everything we can" to help the homeless. But other people claim that the government is not doing enough, since their efforts are not helping to reduce the number of people without a stable home in Dublin.
