The national housing and homeless charity, Peter McVerry Trust, has announced that it is now delivering social housing in Co Kerry. The charity, which is working in partnership with Kerry County Council, said it is working to increase housing pathways for people experiencing homelessness in the county.
Pat Doyle, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, said “We are delighted to be able to help meet the housing needs of people impacted by homelessness in Co. Kerry. We have been working closely with the council to understand the need that exists locally and how best we can be of support to people in the county. We are now working on developing housing pathways to ensure people can exit hostels and B&Bs and get the wraparound supports they need once housed.”
“We have delivered 15 social housing units in Killarney in September which has allowed us to house over 30 people, a mixture of singles, couples and families. All our tenants will receive ongoing support from our dedicated Housing With Supports team who are available to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Peter McVerry Trust welcomes the reduction in the number of people accessing homeless accommodation in September. On Friday, official figures released by the Department of Housing showed a decrease of 13 per in the number of people accessing emergency accommodation in Co. Kerry to 113 people.
Mr Doyle says the charity is working to progress more housing units in the county. “In partnership with the council, we are now progressing other opportunities in Kerry, with projects under review in Listowel and Tralee. Any homes we can deliver will ensure we can help take people out of homelessness and give them the key to their own home and a better future.”
“The challenge is to grow the number of homes we can provide and in particular the number of one-bedroom homes, as they are the type most needed, yet are the hardest to come by. We are looking at any possible opportunities, including long-term vacant buildings, commercial properties that can be converted to residential, or vacant sites with planning permission.”
“We’d encourage anyone that has a property, which would be suitable for social housing in Killarney or Tralee, to contact us so that we can secure more housing options to help tackle homelessness in Co. Kerry.”
