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Homeless centre empty as funding cut

Thursday, 06 March 2008

A decision by the Health Services Executive (HSE) not to fund any homeless services this year could mean that a brand new multi million euro centre for homeless people on the Southside could remain idle when work on it is completed.
The De Paul Trust was due to launch a newly constructed e4 million project on James Street, which would have provided 30 homes for those moving on from emergency accommodation.
The centre was constructed to accommodate those with a long-term history of homelessness and those who required support needs for medical or associated problems such as alcohol or drug dependence.
However, Kerry Anthony of St Vincent de Paul said the HSE’s announcement means the De Paul Trust cannot cover the operational staff costs of the centre.
“The service has been in the planning process since 2001,” she said. “We have had ongoing negotiations with all the agencies involved including the Homeless Agency, the HSE and Dublin City Council.
“We intended to open the service in the first quarter of 2008,” she added. “We are unable to open that now due to a lack of resources, which is very disappointing. We are continuing to liaise with the HSE and we would have a hope that the service will be prioritised for 2008 to come on line.”
The Homeless Agency, which is a statutory body, is charged with the responsibility for the planning, delivery and coordination of services to people who are homeless in Dublin.
Last week, the Dublin Simon Community called for the Minister of Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley (GP) and the cross departmental team on homelessness to respond to a crisis in the Homeless Agency’s Action Plan.
The Simon Community claimed it had been refused funding for 12 projects related to the expansion of its drug and alcohol detox services and supported housing accommodation for vulnerable men and women.
Sam McGuinness, chief executive of the Simon Community, said: “The HSE and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Authority have a responsibility to intervene through the cross departmental team to resolve the deficit impact.
“We should not accept that we have homeless people and rough sleepers on the streets of our city centre every day. There is currently a crisis of ownership regarding the action plan to end homelessness,” he said.
Cllr Clare Byrne (FG) expressed concern that the James Street centre remained closed.
“The Homeless Agency has been informed by the HSE that it will receive no development funding this year, which shows a complete lack of commitment to frontline health,” she said.
“It is crazy that this state of the art facility is sitting empty while homeless people are sleeping rough, developing serious health problems and dying younger than the rest of the population.”
A spokeswoman for the HSE said: “The construction of this new facility is nearing completion and it will have the capacity to accommodate up to 30 homeless persons. The HSE is meeting with statutory and voluntary partners to consider reconfiguring existing services to facilitate the opening of James Street.”
She added that the HSE was a key partner in the Homeless Agency, which decided to undertake a critical review of how funding was utilised to ensure that services best met the changing needs of homeless people.
“The review will be concluded over the course of this year,” she said.

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