Peter McVerry Trust opened their new Housing First Centre of Excellence in Parnell Square, Dublin today. The centre was officially opened by Dr Sam Tsemberis, founder of Pathways Housing First in the New York and creator of the Housing First Model.

Peter McVerry Trust is Ireland’s largest provider of Housing First services, having adopted and supported the model as early as 2011. The Centre of Excellence will be the base for the Housing First Dublin team, where they will be able to offer clients comprehensive support to exit homelessness. The service will feature spaces for group meetings and individual assessments as well as facilitating clinical and psychological support for clients.

The Housing First model aims to provide a person sleeping rough, or someone who has been long-term homeless, with their own secure accommodation as well as access to intensive and specialised support services.

Currently, Peter McVerry Trust is working with 590 active tenancies across 14 local authority areas. The success rate of these tenancies stands at 89%.

Pat Doyle, outgoing CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, said, “The opening of the Peter McVerry Trust Housing First Centre of Excellence in Parnell Square will be a real asset for our hard-working team and the clients they serve. People will be able to drop in and book appointments in a centre dedicated to offering the comprehensive and holistic support they need.

“Housing First is undoubtedly the best possible response to the needs of people who are sleeping rough, long term shelter users and people with complex needs. Peter McVerry Trust is continuing to deliver homes and vital Housing First support services and it is right that we have this dedicated centre to underpin that work.

“Housing First is built on the right to housing and ensuring that people have intensive wraparound supports to help them keep their homes. Clearly working to address your issues from a stable home with the help of a highly skilled, professional multi-disciplinary team is much more successful than trying to do so from an insecure setting like emergency homeless accommodation or living rough on the streets.

“This new Centre of Excellence will enable Peter McVerry Trust to help more entrenched rough sleepers to leave homelessness behind for good.”