Peter McVerry Trust, the national housing and homeless charity, has welcomed the additional €5.1 million in funding for health supports for homeless services.  The funding was announced today by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD during a visit to the Dublin Homeless Covid-19 Response service operated by Peter McVerry Trust. The charity says the additional funding will help support people experiencing homelessness to access essential health services amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Responding to the increased funding, Pat Doyle, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, said “Peter McVerry Trust welcomes the additional funding being made available by Minister Donnelly. Any increase in funding for health services that enable people impacted by homelessness to get the support they need will result in better outcomes and help to reduce homelessness.”

“We are glad that the Minister has increased funding towards COVID-19 responses for people in homelessness. Peter McVerry Trust has been working with the HSE and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive since the start of the pandemic to provide a range of additional supports and services to people in homelessness.”

“Alongside our COVID -19 response services, which allow people to cocoon or isolate, Peter McVerry Trust has also worked with the HSE and other voluntary agencies such as SafetyNet to provide a suite of targeted health supports for people accessing these services. This has enabled people to receive support for health, mental health and drug misuse issues.”

Concluding, Mr Doyle said “This pandemic has quite clearly highlighted the importance of the most vulnerable in society being able to access health services and supports. The multi-agency nature of what has happened in respect of responding and protecting people in homelessness during COVID 19.”