Depaul has recently undertaken a piece of qualitative research, carried out by Coyne
Research, which involved in-depth focus groups with Depaul service users from a
range of services and backgrounds. The research, entitled ‘Depaul Voice’ aims to
give a voice to those living in emergency services. It looks at how it feels to
experience homelessness in today’s Ireland, what it’s like to live in homeless
services, and what people need to begin to rebuild their lives.

The research found that homelessness is rarely the result of one event. More often,
it’s a “domino effect” of compounding circumstances that can leave people with
nowhere else to turn.

A relationship ends. A tenancy is lost. Work disappears. Family support falls away. Ill
health, bereavement, domestic abuse, addiction or difficult childhood experiences
can add further pressure. For almost everyone who took part in the ‘Depaul Voice’
research, homelessness was something they never expected to happen to them.

As one participant asked: “How did I get here, what happened?”

Five pathways into homelessness 

The research highlighted five common pathways into homelessness:

• Losing a home, including a tenancy ending
• Relationship breakdown and domestic abuse
• Family breakdown and bereavement
• Childhood adversity and care experience
• Addiction, mental health, and the cyclical journeys through homelessness

Participants’ experiences did not fit neatly into one category. For many, it was
several things happening at once, or one difficulty leading to another.

The research also challenges assumptions about who experiences homelessness.
Many participants were not sleeping rough and were not experiencing addiction.
Instead, many spoke about working, studying, and caring for others, alongside
dealing with the challenge of homelessness. Participants also spoke about the
uncertainty of not knowing where they would be next, having little control over their
circumstances, and relying entirely on other people or systems.

Participants also described the difficulties of trying to find a home through the wider
housing system. The private rental market was a particular source of frustration, and

moving into independent accommodation was identified as an important step
towards rebuilding a sense of privacy, routine, and control. Participants also spoke
about finding out about important supports by chance, pointing to the need for
clearer information and signposting. They identified practical changes that could
help, including bringing vacant properties into use, improving access to housing
supports and providing greater consistency in the services people rely on.