Homeless hubs and support services needed beyond Navan - Meyer

The need for family hubs and support services for people experiencing homelessness or domestic violence to be located in other parts of the county and not just Navan has been raised by Cllr Helen Meyer who pointed out that many women will not leave domestic violence situations because it would mean their children would have to change schools.

Speaking at the June meeting of Meath County Council, Cllr Helen Meyer said she had been dealing with a few different women in Ashbourne who are in domestic violence situations, but can't -or won't- leave because their children would have to change schools and asked if they could put some of the family hubs in other areas of the county apart from Navan.

“For people in homelessness or leaving domestic violence situations, having to move to Navan and trying to get their kids to school is close to impossible,” she said.

Her motion asking the council to consider locating family hubs and integrated family support services in key population growth areas across all MDs was agreed.

In its written response to the motion, the council outlined that apart from the plans it is progressing for a family homeless hub at Ma Dwyer's in Navan, it had issued an expression of interest inviting providers to submit proposals for additional emergency accommodation in all required areas of the county, adding that all submissions received will be carefully assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Cllr Meyer welcomed this and said she was looking forward to the outcome of this process.

Cllr Paddy Meade agreed that hubs were needed in other areas and told how he had been working with cases in South Drogheda where moving Navan was not an option as children were at school and said it would be very sad if it put a woman off leaving these situations because of this.

Cllr Ronan Moore supporting the motion and also asked that resources and support workers would also be provided in tandem with the roll out of these hubs.

The council also outlined how its new homeless hub at Ma Dwyer's would work saying it is designed to replace less structured forms of emergency accommodation, and will provide consistent, organised and child focused supports, helping to reduce disruption and stress for families.

The Hub will operate 24 hours a day, with staffing provided by the property owner and Meath County Council will also assign a Settlement Officer, who will be present daily to oversee case management, coordinate supports and work directly with families. Each household will be supported through an individualised housing plan, with pathways towards social housing allocations or appropriate schemes such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).

It also pointed out that the location offers good accessibility to local and regional public transport, allowing families to remain connected to schools, services and the wider community.

The new hub is in addition to the four hubs already located in the Navan area that can accommodate 14 families experiencing homelessness.

- Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme