In April 2009, the Board of the Homeless Agency Partnership adopted a Pathway to Home model of homeless and housing support provision in response to recommendations as set out in the Evaluation of Homeless Services 2008 Series, Review of Finance and Expenditure for Homeless Services and Counted In, 2008.
A Pathway to Home encompasses a set of agreed actions and decisions, which will ensure continued alignment with the national homeless strategy, The Way Home and achieve the vision of the Homeless Agency Partnership action plan A Key to the Door 2007-2010, which is to eliminate long-term homelessness and the need for people to sleep rough by 2010.
The evidenced needs of service users are central to the requirement for change in the future direction of homeless services in Dublin, with a comprehensive programme of consultation and negotiation initiated in 2009 with voluntary service providers, Dublin City Council, the HSE and the Homeless Agency Partnership. This programme has been fully inclusive of all services and has been continued into 2010 with a series of meetings with individual service providers taking place throughout January and February of this year and changes to how services will be delivered will only take place subject to final agreement with each service provider.
It is important to state that the Homeless Agency and statutory funders have a very clear rationale for changing the way homeless and housing support services are delivered through the implementation of an agreed plan to ensure long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough in Dublin by end 2010. The implementation of a new model of service delivery will necessarily mean a reduction in the number of temporary beds, owing to the fact that national and local government policy is to provide for a significant increase in suitable long-term tenancies. As part of the model, the Partnership will ensure that ’24 hour supported temporary accommodation’ is in place as distinct from the current provision of the traditional style ‘hostel/one night stays’ with a view to assisting people in maintaining long-term tenancies and receiving support in relation to their health, education and training needs.
The Homeless Agency Partnership has been extremely cautious in evaluating the totality of services between the state and voluntary providers with a view to ensuring that the support systems are effective and are working towards facilitating people to secure and maintain a long-term tenancy with whatever supports they may require.
For further information or clarification please contact Lisa Kelleher, Communications and Public Relations, The Homeless Agency on lisa.kelleher@dublincity.ie
