Depaul to open 67-bed hostel for the homeless in Dublin this month
Depaul have announced that they will open a new emergency night service in Dublin.
The service will open in December on Little Britain Street and will provide 67 beds for men and women who are at risk of sleeping rough in the capital.
The Depaul-run service will provide:
40 beds for single men
12 beds for single women
Five beds for couples
Five 'high dependency' beds for men and women with high support needs
The service will run from 6.30pm every day and will accept referrals from the Central Placement Service which is managed by Dublin City Council’s Homeless Services Section.
It will be closed between 10am and 6.30pm, and people using the hostel will have access to a light meal in the evenings, breakfast in the mornings, showers and limited laundry facilities.
They will also provide health supports at the hostel, and trained volunteers will deliver social and recreational activities including photography, music, art, etc.
Ms Kerry Anthony, CEO of Depaul, said: "The Rough Sleeper Count released by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive shows that there were 142 people sleeping rough on one night in Dublin, plus another 77 people using the Merchants Quay Night Café.
"The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin has increased by an alarming 56% since last winter, when there were 91 people on the streets. This is by any metric a tragic situation and these beds are a vital emergency response."
Ms Anthony said the new service will try to help people take steps to get out of homelessness, but the Government needs to help with that also by providing more housing.
Ms Anthony said: "We urgently need new housing to be brought on board in order to achieve this goal.
"We urge the Government to accelerate its efforts to stimulate the provision of social and affordable housing in Ireland as, without bricks and mortar, it will be impossible to lessen the number of people coming through our doors."
