Postcards from the edge

A COLLECTION of Christmas cards has been produced by homeless people in the city in a unique new venture to raise money for people on the streets.

The Christmas card collection was officially unveiled at the Mendicity Institute’s offices on Island Street in Dublin 8 last week by sporting stars Fergus McFadden of Leinster Rugby and Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy.

The cards were designed by homeless people who have no other income and who are currently participating in the charity’s workshop programme. 

“A total of 200 cards have been produced by the homeless people on the programme,” said Simone Sav, the manager of the workshop programme. “They’ll be marketed at €2 each and we’ll be organising various stalls and outlets over the course of the next month to sell them to members of the public.”

Mr Sav added that the presence of McCarthy and McFadden at the launch of the Christmas card collection would provide a public face to the work of the Mendicity Institute.

He added that the event was a means of promoting the work of the charity in the area of homelessness. 

The programme currently employs 16 homeless people. Mr Sav said that the plan is to increase the number of participants on the programme to 20 over the coming months. 

“The increase we’re seeing in homelessness figures is a fact,” Mr Sav declared when asked if the charity was facing an increased demand in services as a result of the housing crisis.

Recent figures from Inner City Helping Homeless revealed that 169 people are sleeping rough across the city each night.

The Mendicity Institute is one of Dublin’s oldest charities. It was established in 1818 with the central aim of assisting homeless people return to employment.

The charity currently provides a free food centre, an employment and integration drop-in clinic, several community-based projects and the workshop programme.

REPORT: Andrew Ralph