THIS homeless young mother of five who cannot find private rented accommodation has refused to be transferred to a homeless shelter where she claims her children could be exposed to drugs.
Charlene Murray (27), from Dun Laoghaire, told Southside People that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council informed her that she and her five children had to move from the Camberley House shelter for the homeless in Churchtown where she is currently staying.
She claimed that council officials had told her they could only locate a room for her and her children in another homeless shelter on the Southside. But she has refused the offer because she believes that some of the residents in the other shelter are drug users.
She claimed she had heard from several sources that drug users sometimes resided at the shelter where the council wanted to transfer her.
“She was eager to point out that she was content, at least temporarily, to stay with her children in Camberley House until she could find suitable private rented accommodation.
The unemployed mother said that at lunchtime last Friday she had refused the offer because she felt that if she accepted it her five children – Casey (11), Zara (8), James (6), Kealum (2) and Skye (2) – could be put at risk. She added that she now had
“nowhere else to go
?.
“The girl that is living right next door to me in Camberley House is only after being taken out of there because it is unsuitable for kids,
? she said.
“The shelter they want me to move into was meant to be knocked down because it is that bad. They want to move me and my kids down there where I heard there are drug addicts living.
?
Ms Murray became homeless late last year when she was evicted from her apartment, saying:
“I couldn’t find anywhere to live before Christmas. No landlord that I rang wanted to take me with five kids. I have been on the housing list for nine years and nothing is being done. I should be allowed to provide some kind of home for my kids.
?
Cllr Hugh Lewis (PBP) said it was also his understanding that the shelter where the council wanted to transfer Ms Murray was
“unsuitable
? for children.
“Moving them there will only add to further distress for the children and Charlene,
? he said.
Cllr Lewis called on the council to actively assist Ms Murray and other parents and single people in similar situations in finding landlords who will accommodate them.
“If Charlene can’t find a place to live, and it is obvious that she can’t, then the council should actively try to find somewhere for her,
? he added.
A spokesperson for the council said its housing department provided assistance in sourcing accommodation in the private rented sector through tenant advocacy group Threshold, which provides a twice weekly clinic in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.
“The most favourable outcomes occur when the individual or family work together in dialogue with the relevant agencies,
? the spokesperson said.
“An individual or family is never placed in homeless accommodation without the offer of support, and the majority of people engage immediately and satisfactorily with those supports, generally leading to a short term stay in homeless accommodation.
?
The council did not comment on the claims about alleged drug users at the alternative homeless shelter.