The Simon Community will announce plans today to establish a service in the midlands to help meet the needs of an estimated 300 homeless people there.
Although an official assessment compiled two years ago suggested homelessness had fallen dramatically, the community says figures on B&B use and other indicators show the problem is much larger.
The voluntary group will launch a strategy with local authorities and other agencies to eliminate homelessness in Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath.
Mr Tony O'Riordan, development officer with the Midlands Simon Community, said while authorities tended to see this as an urban problem, it was also a major issue in rural areas.
"The reality of homelessness in the midlands is not necessarily people sleeping rough. It's people living in insecure accommodation, temporary accommodation or hostel accommodation. In that sense it may not be as visible a problem as in more urban areas," Mr O'Riordan said.
Most homeless people in the midlands live in B&Bs or hostels. However, Simon said it is planning more long-term solutions. "Our goal is to eliminate homelessness in the area. We see the issues as being about housing. Our main drive will be to help people source their own homes and help them to maintain and manage their homes," he said.
Simon also plans to develop a new way to deal with homelessness by working with local authorities and other agencies to assess and address the sometimes multiple needs of people in areas such as health and welfare.
Mr O'Riordan said an effective response needed local authorities, voluntary groups and other agencies, working together.
Figures compiled by local authorities suggested there had been a dramatic decrease in homelessness in recent years, falling from 150 in 1999 to 39 in 2002. However, Simon said these figures were a snapshot, and not an accurate reflection of the problem.
New figures that Simon has compiled in consultation with local authorities and other service providers in the region suggest that numbers are much higher.
In Co Westmeath alone more than 100 people were accommodated on an emergency basis in B&Bs over a year; in Co Offaly 53 people presented as homeless over six months; there were 31 hostel places in Co Longford; and 18 people presented as homeless over three months in Co Laois.
