Need for transitional housing in Meath highlighted during Senator’s visit

The need for transitional housing in Meath for those exiting residential treatment programmes for addiction was discussed during a visit to Tabor House in Navan by independent senator and founder of Tiglin, Aubrey McCarthy.

Tiglin is a registered charity dedicated to restoring lives affected by homelessness, addiction, and social exclusion. Its services include homeless outreach, supported housing, rehabilitation, education and employment support, youth services, and family assistance.

Its founder, Aubrey McCarthy, was joined by Cllr Gayle Ralph and DJ Nikki Hayes as they visited Tabor House, a ten bed residential secondary addiction treatment centre in Navan founded by Sr Catherine Lillis. Nikki Hayes has spoken openly about her own battle with alcohol addiction, losing her job and ending up homeless.

The visit came about after Sen McCarthy promised Sr Catherine he would come to Tabor House when he met her after she was awarded the Oireachtas Human Dignity Award two years ago.

“It was a privilege to visit Tabor House and gain insight into the work they do and to talk about opportunities for strengthening their service offering,” said Sen McCarthy.

“Our discussions centred around life after addiction and how to support people in maintaining long term recovery. We also shared some of the strategies we use at Tiglin Ireland to empower people on their journey beyond addiction. One key element is education, not just in the academic sense, but also life skills, vocational training, and personal development.

During the visit, Sen McCarthy spoke with men who are currently on the Tabor House programme. They told him how they had been on waiting lists to get in and that the programme had worked well and how Tabor House had given them a new life and they are now looking towards careers and family restoration.

“But one key issue is that they can’t get accommodation once they’ve completed their programme. They are ready to move on and they need to move on to make space for other people coming on the programme, but there’s nowhere to move on to.”

There is no homeless shelter in Meath so he said for example they may end up in Dublin in a homeless hostel which is not the best place for someone who is recovering from addiction. This is where the idea of transitional housing comes in to support those in recovery for the first year as they get back on their feet.

He said Tabor House does phenomenal work and is one piece in the continuum of care but there is a need for supports for transitional places for people to heal from whatever they are recovering from in the first place.

Senator McCarthy told how the Tiglin organisation has 114 people in education and said their approach is working. He recalled how when opening one of their housing initatives, President Michael D Higgins had said every county manager all over the country should look at what is being done by Tiglin and ask themselves why they aren't doing something similar.

Following his visit to Tabor House, Senator McCarthy met with Cllr Alan Lawes and Cllr Michael Gallagher and viewed a property in North Meath being suggested as potential accommodation for the homeless.

Senator McCarthy's name has also been linked to a possible presidential bid and he confirmed he has been approached by a number of people who would like to see him run and that he is strongly considering a bid. To run as an independent candidate, he would require the support of either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.