Homelessness service demand 'more than expected'

There has been "higher demand than anticipated" for emergency accommodation for homeless Isle of Man residents so far in 2025, the chairman of a government body has said.

The Housing and Communities Board has facilitated 2,955 bed spaces to people from January to March, at a cost of £187,990.

The board facilities emergency accommodation predominantly through local hotels and B&Bs, as part of an overarching strategy to tackle homelessness.

Chairman David Ashford said there had been "much more demand than we expected", and was "not sustainable in the long term".

Ashford said a team of social workers in Manx Care had now been appointed to run the service, who started at the beginning of April.

The island's only night shelter, run by charity Graih, closed in 2022.

Ashford said the figure included a number of people helped who would be returning on more than one occasion, as well as a "churn" of new people going through the process.

Only Isle of Man residents are able to access the services provided.

While Ashford said the board was providing a "very valuable service, putting roofs over people's heads", the costs meant it was "not sustainable in the long term" and "bespoke" facilities were needed.

Demand for the services had shown "a need that was not necessarily visible until now".

The board was "looking at developing a more sustainable emergency accommodation service" so they were not "reliant on hotels and B&Bs", he said.

Rob Callister MHK said it came down to "bricks and mortar" and bigger investment was needed.

There were also concerns raised by MHKs about how the service would meet demand during the TT festival fortnight, which begins on 26 May.

Ashford said there was ongoing work to find "alternative accommodation" to deal with the demand during the island's busiest time of year.

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