TWO NEW HOMELESS facilities opened in Dublin city today – the first of 165 emergency beds to be made available this winter.
The Peter McVerry Trust (PMVT) will run a 70-bed unit on Ellis Quay, while Depaul Ireland will operate a 75-bed hostel on Little Britain Street.
Additionally, the Civil Defence will operate a 20-bed service at Wolfe Tone Quay during severe weather conditions.
A further facility to be operated by Dublin Simon and the Salvation Army for 65 adults at Carman’s Hall was also due to open today, but has been delayed by court proceedings.
All images: PMVT/Facebook
The hostels are part of the homelessness strategy by Dublin City Council and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive.
Once a person has been assessed as homeless by the relevant Dublin local authority, they will be placed into a bed space via the Dublin Region Central Placement Service. Access to each facility will be via a scheduled booking time between the hours of 6.30pm and 9pm each day.
Getting people off the streets
The PMVT hostel will accommodate 15 men tonight and over the coming week scale up to accommodate a total of 70 men and women.
CEO Pat Doyle said: “We are delighted to be able to open this supported temporary accommodation service which will provide high quality and safe accommodation for up to six months. This new service will mean we can offer 70 people an opportunity to come off the streets of Dublin.”
https://www.facebook.com/DepaulIreland/photos/a.413626889389.185948.88243924389/10154873457284390/?type=3&theater
Depaul CEO Kerry Anthony said: “The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin has increased by an alarming 56% since last winter. This is by any metric a tragic situation and these beds are a vital emergency response.
These additional beds are absolutely essential to ensure the safety of people who are at risk of sleeping rough in Dublin and we look forward to managing this new service.
Housing Minister Simon Coveney also welcomed the news, saying: “On Wednesday I visited the facility at Ellis Quay with the Taoiseach to view the works underway there first-hand and I wish to commend the Dublin Region Homeless Executive for the quick turn-around in delivering these facilities.
“Rough sleeping is sometimes due to complex addiction problems and these facilities offer somewhere to these people to sleep and get a meal. The long-term solution to homelessness is to increase the supply of both social and private housing and that is what we have set out to do under Rebuilding Ireland.”
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