Focus Ireland says the homeless crisis is getting worse - with newborn babies among those living in emergency accommodation.
The charity's annual report shows it helped a record 15,500 people last year, including around 1,600 families.
The overall figure is an increase of 7% on 2017 and 14% on 2016.
According to the charity, child homelessness has increased by 365% in five years.
The report also shows Focus Ireland provided 176 homes last year through its housing wing.
Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said thousands of children are still facing the trauma of being homeless, and the period of time they're spending living in emergency accommodation is getting "longer and longer".
He noted: "There's a significant number of families now in emergency accommodation, in a hotel room, for longer than 24 months... It's frightening."
On the housing crisis generally, he argued: "The problem fundamentally is down to the collapse of the private rental market.
"That continues, and as a result it's having an impact on families and households up and down the country at the moment."
"It's not easy"
Brian Somers was once homeless, but he now helps others to secure housing.
Brian Somers. Image via Focus IrelandBrian got clean from drugs more than ten years ago, and he explained it can be hard for people with addictions to turn things around.
Speaking at the launch of the Focus Ireland report today, he observed: "It's not nice when you've actually come to sort of accept it - that this is the way it's going to be.
"You've two choices - you either get caught up in the criminality and the drug use, or you go and try to get clean. It's not easy to try to get clean when you're trying to stabilise on your methadone, and you have someone smoking gear in your room."
