Ms Karen Feeney:

A multi-agency, almost local, task force was set up because young 18- to 24-year-olds were increasingly presenting for homeless services in 2012 and 2013. A group got together and one of the first things it did was to have some dedicated apartments. We initially started off with eight units of accommodation. That way it was very much about keeping young people out of emergency homeless services, which is a completely different shift in their identity. A lot of planning and design went into that. In this instance, the local authority provided the accommodation units initially. The next resource piece is around staffing. That involves tailored support to young people to either be in work or training, and to get counselling or the other allied health services they need. It is very much around that. It is then about supporting them to move on into accommodation.

Since 2016, the numbers seeking our help have increased. We have an additional four units and now have 12 beds altogether. We believe that within the context of Galway it has kept the numbers presenting to emergency services much lower than they otherwise would have been. For the young people involved, they do not have this identity of having been in homeless services. It is very much about supported housing.