Peter McVerry Trust, the national housing and homeless charity, has announced plans to expand its own Housing First work to Limerick in 2018.
The charity, which was an early adopter of the internationally recognised approach to ending homelessness, is set to expand its delivery of the model outside of Dublin to include counties Kildare and Limerick.
Pat Doyle, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, said “In 2018 the charity will mark 35 years in existence and to coincide that occasion we will expand our flagship Housing First programme by a further 35 individuals. This means the programme will expand from 25 to 60 participants. As part of the expansion we will deliver new small-scale interventions in counties Limerick and Kildare. We hope that by the end of 2018 we will have a cohort of 10 individuals in Limerick and a further 8 in Kildare.”
Mr Doyle said that Peter McVerry Trust is targeting a number of specific groups through its Housing First work. “We are currently focused on people who are long-term users of homeless services. However, our plan now is to target other specific groups, such as those exiting State care and other institutions including hospitals and prisons. Our work with Dr Tsemberis will be critical in achieving successful interventions in these cases.”
Concluding, Mr Doyle said, “Our goal will be to work closely with the new National Director of Housing First as well as our partners in the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, Kildare County Council and Limerick City and County Councils. A partnership approach is essential to the success of the Housing First model, as it will ensure that we deliver the best outcomes for the individuals who will benefit from this newly expanded programme. The partnership approach has worked well to date with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive Focus Ireland – Peter McVerry Trust Housing First project in Dublin, which has delivered over 176 tenancies since late 2014.”
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