Focus Ireland’s annual report highlights many of the group’s impressive achievements with regards to providing support for homeless families, even whilst dealing with the difficulties the Covid 19 pandemic has presented.
Focus Ireland, an organisation founded by Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, has provided support services to the homeless of Ireland since 1985. Since then, they have grown into an influential organisation on the frontlines of combating homelessness in Ireland.
2020 was characterised by hardship, especially for those that do not have a place to call home.
Even in the face of the difficulties posed by 2020, Focus Ireland’s annual report shows that the group was able to support 1,575 families living in emergency accommodation, also helping a record 1,829 households avert homelessness.
Focus Ireland provides numerous support services to homeless families during the pandemic.
These include food and activity pack deliveries to those in emergency accommodation, and the Family Homeless Action Team (FHAT) in Dublin, which helped 467 families find new homes this year.
Conor Culkin, a Communications Officer for Focus Ireland, clarifies a key goal of Focus Ireland’s mission, “prevention”.
“We try to move people out of homelessness, but we try to support people to keep their homes. We will often do this through our advice and support line”.
This advisory function often helps families in dispute with landlords.
“You can contact Focus Ireland, we can tell you about your rights, we can tell you the relevant avenues to go down in order to keep your home”.
The above-mentioned advisory service helped 470 families keep their homes.
He states, “Focus Ireland’s support staff, tends to be that link between the family … we will tell them how to contact prospective landlords, how to contact the council, to give them as much proper advice as possible”.
“Our support staff are an all-round help for the people that are homeless … it is imperative to peoples’, who are homeless, state of mind and their wellbeing”.
Focus Ireland’s Focus Housing Association also boasted an additional 130 homes available for the homeless, or those at risk of becoming homeless.
“We house people as well. We have our own homes. As part of Focus Ireland, we have the Focus Housing Association.
“This is housing which is allocated for people who will be on the social housing waiting list. It will be for the most vulnerable people.”
Focus Ireland also places great emphasis on helping those that seek their support with education and employment. This is provided by Focus Ireland’s preventative service, Preparation for Education, Training and Employment (PETE).
It aims to provides a flexible, participant-centred service that fosters growth in self-confidence, empowerment, and personal development.
Culkin stresses the importance of this preventative support service, offered by Focus Ireland.
“One of the reasons why they are homeless, often is because lack of income, and obviously that will often be because of lack of employment opportunities.
“For our service users, we try to train them in soft skills.”
“Soft skills” are tools which service users can utilise to secure employment and better their lives.
They do not only offer training in “soft skills”, the PETE service also provides an advisory function for those interested in a profession or trade.
The PETE service helped 275 adults in their search for skills and employment, helping keep them out of homelessness.
2020 was a remarkably difficult year for the homeless, but statistics such as these show that Focus Ireland are striving to fulfil their mission statement of ending homelessness in Ireland.
Marius Writes Stuff for You?! 