Peter McVerry Trust works with some of the most marginalised people in Irish society. In particular, the homeless and housing charity has a long history of supporting young people impacted by homelessness in Dublin. However, in more recent years the charity has found itself responding to a changing homeless situation across Ireland.
The charity's CEO, Pat Doyle has said the organisation is driven to respond whenever possible, "Our goal is to do what we can when we can, to meet the needs of those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. That has meant responding across more counties and responding to different groups in homelessness, like the increasing number of families who have become homeless in recent times."
“While the initial response is often the provision of quality emergency accommodation, Peter McVerry Trust’s goal and our priority from day one is to get people into a new home as quickly as possible, and to help them to keep that home. That’s why the work of our Housing with Supports team, and our Accommodation Finders team, is so important.”
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The charity’s Housing with Supports team, together with Accommodation Finders staff, are critical in securing exits from homelessness for singles, couples and families in emergency accommodation. Fortunately, the charity has been able to progress hundreds of people into a new home in recent years.
Paul's story
One family that has recently moved into their new home with the support of the charity’s Housing with Supports team is Paul’s. He found himself homeless with his daughter after his relationship of 11 years broke down.
“This time last year my daughter was going back to school and I was cutting the sandwiches with the handle of a spoon in the B&B. Now to have our own property after walking out of our home with nothing but the clothes on our backs, shows just how much can be achieved with the support of the organisation. I mean it’s amazing the work that Peter McVerry’s do. I was blown away by it, the support and the continued support that they give you even after you move in.”
Sylvia's story
Sylvia, who was renting her apartment for seven years in west Dublin, never imagined that she’d become homeless or end up needing the services of a homeless charity. Widowed with three children, she and her family ended up accessing homeless services when the landlord evicted them ahead of selling the investment property. After she received notice to leave, Sylvia arranged to see over 40 properties and sent over 200 emails to landlords and estate agents, but to no avail. After she contacted her local authority she was directed to a service provided by Peter McVerry Trust on behalf of the council. Fortunately, the family’s stay in homelessness was short, and within a matter of weeks they had secured a new home with the support of Peter McVerry Trust.
“The Housing with Supports team organised a viewing to find the house, they organised everything. When we came to see the house I waited two weeks and the landlord came back and agreed that I could take it.”
For Sylvia, she found the follow-up support a huge help; “They don’t just leave us after finding a new home, they don’t say 'bye, you are alone again'. They motivated me to enrol in college again where I am doing a night course because I work during the day.”
Erica's story
While Sylvia and Paul moved with their families from family hubs into new homes, Erica and her daughter left an emergency stay in a hotel for their new home. Erica, who had spent over four years in emergency hotel accommodation, moved into her new home just before Christmas of 2017 with her daughter.
“The biggest difference since moving in here is that we’re no longer stuck in one room. Now my daughter has her own room if she needs to, or just wants to, go in and play with her toys. Now her toys won’t be all over the floor in a hotel, when we’re stuck in one room and have such little space to walk in, and you’re stepping on toys and stuff.
The ongoing challenge according to CEO Pat Doyle, remains securing enough homes quickly enough to make a real dent on the homeless numbers. “The reality is that if we had more homes available to us we could exit more people faster and ensure they never end up in homelessness again. Our Opening Doors Appeal, which we run each year to coincide with World Homeless Day, on October 10th, raises vital funds to support our Housing with Supports team and ensure that we help more people secure a new home, for themselves and their families. Ultimately, the more we can raise from public fundraising appeals, the more keys we can hand over to help people leave homelessness behind for good.”