New campaign offers homeless families a hand

FOCUS Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy launched a new campaign in Dundrum last week, asking the public to help prevent family homelessness.

The Helping Hand campaign will see a pop-up living room tour around Ireland to give the public the opportunity to pledge support of the charity. The first location for this was revealed at Dundrum Town Centre.

The most recent Government figures show a record total of more than 7,148 people currently experiencing homelessness in Ireland.

There are currently 1,205 families with 2,505 children without a home throughout the country.

One in three people who are accessing homeless services in Ireland have a child.

Focus Ireland works with people through the difficult and stressful experience of homelessness by listening to them, providing them with information and access to the support services they need and helping them to find solutions. 

Bord Gáis Energy has committed €1.2 million over three years in funding to Focus Ireland to help prevent family homelessness.

The partnership is helping to minimise the effect of losing a home, ease the disruption that homelessness can cause to everyday life and to aid the creation of a sustainable long term solution to the issue.

Roisin McDonnell, Services Manager of Focus Ireland said: “It is truly awful to realise that over 2,500 children have nowhere to call home in Ireland today.

“Our staff are working with families and children every single day to help them overcome the terrible impact being homeless has on them.

“Many times a family who are homeless are squeezed into one hotel room with nowhere to cook or for children to play.

“Focus Ireland is dedicated to helping people move out of homelessness, while also being there at the right time for people so that they can avoid becoming homeless in the first place.

“At a time of such a crisis, the support of Bord Gáis Energy is vital in helping us dedicate specialist resources to help people who are at risk of losing their home in the first place.”