100,000 children in Ireland go to bed hungry, warns youth charity

A staggering number.

According to the national youth charity Irish Youth FoundationIrish Youth Foundation, as many as 100,000 children in Ireland are going to bed at night hungry. The charity has recently conducted a large-scale survey, warning that in the last 30 years, there has never been such a worrying situation facing young people and children. As part of the research for a new campaign, the charity conducted a survey, revealing that 91 percent of young people said they miss their friends, 72 percent said they miss sports, 81 percent miss their family, and 58 percent said they are having difficulty maintaining structure and routine. Almost two-thirds of children (61 percent) cite isolation as their biggest issue, and there has been a 50 percent increase in the number of children not making it to secondary school, according to the charity. Sounds serious? It gets worse. According to the survey, one in five children or yours are also living in poverty and 60 percent of under-24s are unemployed. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on children’s lives, according to Lucy Masterson, chief executive of the Irish Youth Foundation. “Cutting them off from the basics of a safe, warm place to go after school for a hot meal, wifi for home learning, right up to access to mental health supports and activities that keep them from becoming invisible.” “Years of transformative work by local youth projects, charities, and organisations across the country have been wiped out.” The Irish Youth Foundation launched #GenerationPandemic last week, a national campaign to call on the public to take action. More than 50 celebrities have already pledged their support to #GenerationPandemic including Doireann Garrihy, Johnny Sexton, Shane Lowry, Greg O’Shea, and Connor Murray.