Homeless fathers feel “unworthy” and not considered a parent, and the system leaves them unable to secure accommodation that could also allow their children to stay with them, new research has shown.
The study commissioned by Focus Ireland, and compiled by Quality Matters, found being homeless damages the identity, self-efficacy and self-confidence of fathers while they also face a lack of practical supports to foster relationships with their children.
“Overall, the experience of becoming homeless serves to alienate a father from their role as a parent within themselves and wider society,” it said.
"A lack of child-friendly spaces meant fathers depended on their relationships with the other parent or with their own family in order to see their children."
According to the latest figures, there are just under 15,000 homeless people in Ireland. This includes 10,067 adults and 4,419 children, and over 2,000 families.
One man who took part in the study said he found it difficult applying for social housing from a local authority as he was not eligible for suitable accommodation as his custody of his child was not recognised.
He said: “I had to go over to the city council and talk to them, and constantly explain my situation, ‘like you do understand I have a daughter, I’m living in a hostel’ and they’re like ‘things might change, you might not need a place, the mother might come back’.
“I said that’s none of your business, she’s always been in my life, she doesn’t want to come back to her mother.”
Others talked about a sense of shame and stigma at being homeless and the impact this had on their relationship with their children.
“I was embarrassed to be this societal failure,” one said. “Because at this stage they had their own home and compared to that I was in a homeless shelter, and I was embarrassed.
“My ex brought them to see me a couple of times in the shelter and I felt very ashamed.
The study was based on a small number of interviews with homeless fathers and key workers. The researchers noted a reticence from some men who were fathers to answer questions for the study, and said it should inform how homeless services interact with them given their potential housing needs in future.
Mike Allen, director of advocacy with Focus Ireland, said: “One of the things that was remarkable in the recruitment challenge for this project is the number of cases where men known to have the experiences we were exploring, eventually decided not to talk about them.
Co-developed with researchers Quality Matters, the Focus Ireland report outlined several recommendations to help fathers who are homeless.
This included the development of a new national resource to improve the referral for non-custodial parents who are homeless, and ensuring they have supervised access visits with children in suitable spaces.
They also recommended training for case managers and frontline workers on responding to parenting issues for non-custodial parents.