The national housing and homeless charity, Peter McVerry Trust, has announced that it is now delivering social housing in Mayo. The charity, which is working in partnership with Mayo County Council, said it is hoping 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 Mayo. 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.”
Mr Doyle said the charity will deliver its first social housing units in Mayo before Christmas: “In partnership with the council, we are progressing our first projects in the county; a family home just outside Castlebar, which saw a long-term vacant house brought back into use. The remaining 13 units are located in Ballina town centre. Given that one-bedroom homes are the type that are most needed and yet the hardest to come by, our focus on one-bedroom units will allow us to help Mayo County Council progress people out of homelessness and aid their work under the Housing First programme.
“We are looking at any possible opportunities to grow the number of homes we can provide, particularly the number of one-bedroom homes. This includes 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 may be suitable for social housing in Mayo, to contact us so that we can secure more housing options to help tackle homelessness in the county.”