The Housing First contract signed by the Peter McVerry Trust for the North East Region three years ago is going "very well".
That's according to Fr McVerry who spoke to Shannonside Northern Sound this week about the commitment that was made with Louth, Cavan and Monaghan co councils in February 2020.
He says the Trust is committed to providing homes for people who find themselves sleeping rough across the region. Fr McVerry highlighted how no more hostel accommodation will be built as it does not meet people's needs. He added the focus now, is on bringing derelict building back into use, so that residential space can be provided to the homeless.
"Our priority actually is to bring back derelict buildings back into use. We prefer to do that rather than building from scratch. That is for three reasons; one, it's cheaper; two, it's quicker; and three, if you try to open any service for homeless people you will often get a lot of community opposition. But if the community sees you bringing back empty buildings into use and improving the landscape for them, they are actually delighted," said Fr McVerry.
