Agency is not planning a ‘wet house’ for homeless

ON June 18 you ran a story about a new homeless service for Mitchel Street, Thurles, being provided by Novas Initiatives. Unfortunately, it contained many inaccuracies on key aspects of the development.

Firstly, it claimed that the development was for “a controversial wet house”. It was established two years ago that the new service will not be a “wet house” (ie, allow clients to bring alcohol into the premises or consume alcohol on the premises).

The residents’ group was informed of this by the council (by letter available to your newspaper). Next we are described as “private developers”. We are a not-for-profit voluntary agency promoting social inclusion. Our main services are for homeless adults with services in Limerick, Kerry, Dublin and north Tipperary. We are like every other charity, registered under Irish company law and accorded charitable status by the Revenue Commissioners. We are a body approved by the Department of Local Government to provide social housing.

Then came an unqualified quote from a person purporting to act for the residents of the area saying the service was “taking money from a service run by the Simon Community on the outskirts of town”.

Even a cursory look at the North Tipperary County Council website will show that, for 2009, the council has approved €120,000 for the Simon service while our new service has been designated for €2,000 in the same period. You published another quote from the same spokesperson stating “it won’t be staffed when it is built because of the HSE recruitment embargo…”

As a voluntary agency we are not directly affected by the partial recruitment embargo in HSE. However, if we do not receive any funding for the service, then it will not open.

The next quote repeated a much-used canard – expressing concern about our “other centres in Limerick and other parts of Munster, which we have visited before…” The fact is that no one from Mitchel Street, or on their behalf, has ever visited any of our projects in Limerick, Kerry or Dublin.

Their allegations from these nonexistent visits are fantasies. The report proceeds to quote Cllr Jim Ryan. Essentially he wonders how Novas Initiatives received a €1m grant from the Department of Local Government. As he already knows that amount was for the purchase and refurbishment of two premises in Mitchel Street.

Two years ago we proposed a compromise whereby the local homeless could access only one of the houses (the other adjoining house reverting to the council). Consequently, the funding for purchase and major refurbishment is half his figure. Again all of this is on the county council website. Your report also said we have insisted this particular homeless facility is badly needed. The public record on this is clear (see council website).

The need for the service was first identified by independent consultants reporting to the county council.

Successive independent assessments have confirmed that emergency (and other) services are urgently needed. The council has adopted a series of homeless action plans all of which acknowledge this pressing need.

Novas was invited by the council to provide a service the council insists is badly needed. It can be difficult to develop services for people who are homeless. We don’t seek preferential treatment but we do expect a newspaper which has a good reputation on these issues at least to print the facts.

Your report began by trumpeting about this “controversial” service. The other day I was speaking to a few people who are homeless at present. They couldn’t begin to understand why providing temporary housing for a few local homeless people was controversial. And you know they’re right.

Greg Maxwell

Personnel and Communications Manager

Novas Initiatives

Mungret Street

Limerick