Left out in thecold: A review of rural homelessness in ireland APPENDIX 2 Good practice examples The Simon Communities have developed services to help tackle rural homelessness responding to local needs in spite of cutbacks in funding and greater costs that are incurred in providing services in rural areas. These services continue to be developed with limited resources. Dublin Kildare/Wicklow: Dublin Simon Community has developed a Homeless Support Service in Kildare and Wicklow to assess the homeless population in these counties, carry out support to those in need, and report outcomes to Local Authorities. Offices have been established in these counties where they offer prevention, outreach and settlement support for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. This is solely funded by donors in each county. In Wicklow, where there is a lack of single accommodation units, they work with people and if appropriate suggest sharing with another suitable individual. They will support the service users to look for two or three bedroom accommodation. Where there is a lack of or 24 difficulty in accessing transport, staff travel to meet the client in a place convenient to them. They also link in with other services, such as mental health services and social workers arranging for them to visit people in own home. Raising awareness of rural homelessness and how community support can help individuals is also a major part of their services along with building relations with estate agents and landlords. Galway: Galway Simon Community recently opened up a resource centre in the county which provides information, advice, support and advocacy services in relation to housing and homelessness. However, the strategic plan reflects the need to explore the demand for services in rural areas. Midlands:Midlands Simon Community have designed all services to respond to the phenomenon of rural homelessness such as the regional settlement service (RSS), emergency accommodation service (sharing waiting lists and maximising capacity around four counties), a Community Liaison Nurse service with each nurse covering two counties and a GP Pharmacy Nurse covering two counties. The RSS in the Midlands has developed as a model suited to rural areas and this service was reviewed in 2013. This review outlines that a Housing led approach can have successful outcomes and impact in rural settings and the outcomes are verified in the review. MSC have always had the Housing First Approach as our vision and MSC hosted the only ever National Housing First Conference in September 2013 and this conference with AIT has three papers/presentations that are available onwww.ait.ie, all of which are applicable to the homelessness situation in rural Ireland. As part of the Housing led approach, MSC have 14 housing units with support services in Westmeath and Laois, demonstrating the potential that a housing led approach will have in rural settings. The lead role that the four Local Authorities of Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath have played together with the HSE has lead to improved services across the four Midlands Counties namely through their work on establishing Homeless Action Teams and through the effective working of the Midlands Regional Joint Consultative Homeless Forum.
Left out in the cold: A review of rural homelessness in Ireland
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