What We Do
About Homeless Care CLG
Homeless Care is a charity set up in Naas in December 2014 to provide care and facilities for young adults primarily in the age bracket 18 to 25 years old who have been in State Care and now find themselves Homeless.
The initiative to form Homeless Care was inspired by hearing Paula Mc Hale, a Social Care Worker working in the Naas area with young homeless adults, on national radio in August 2014. Paula with over twenty years’ experience working in the care system, has worked in the Naas area since 2013 providing a service for 15 to 20 young homeless.
Following on from Paula’s radio interview, a group of Naas business people set up Homeless Care Ltd. with a view to providing facilities and training for young homeless adults out of State care to enable them to reintegrate within the community.
Homeless Care CLG (HC-CLG) was incorporated in December 2014 and in June 2015 achieved Charitable Status (CHY21475) and Approved Housing Status. In August 2015 an initial submission was mas made to the Department of the Environment and Local Government (DoELG) for Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) Funding which was approved in principle in February 2016.
In October 2016 HC-CLG purchased an old farmhouse and outbuildings on 5.5acres on the outskirts of Naas with a view to converting the farmhouse to offices, care worker facilities, meeting rooms and communal areas and to converting the outbuildings to twelve studio apartments. It is intended that these facilities will be provided for young homeless adults to provide a comprehensive residential care based programme, over a defined period, to facilitate the transition from state care to interdependent living thereby minimising the homeless problem in Kildare.
A multidisciplinary team has been appointed by HC-CLG for the conversion of the property and an application for planning is targetted for September 2017 with construction under way in mid 2018.
HC-CLG will grant a licence to an established homeless charity for the running of the facility in accordance with HCL-CLG and funder criteria.
Our Challenge
- There are approximately 6,500 children in the state care system at any one time. Approximately 95% are in foster care, 5% are in residential care units. There is a large waiting list of approximately 3,000 children attempting to access child welfare facilities and the state care system.
- It is estimated that 300 – 500 children are in state care in Co. Kildare. 60% of the Kildare population is in its 10 biggest urban centres (Newbridge, Naas, Celbridge, Maynooth, Athy, Sallins, Clane, Kilcock, Kildare, Leixlip) and the homeless problem is centred around these towns
- In the last number of years there has been a policy shift away from high support residential childcare, towards the fostering system – the system has proven results for the majority of children in care, but for the minority, most at risk group, it is not the best solution and increases the likelihood of ultimate adult homelessness
- National After Care Policy was established in 2011 – outside of accommodation it is focused on education, employment & training – approximately 60% of Care Leavers benefit from this policy. The 40% who do not benefit from this policy, have no system to support them.
- Homeless people cannot claim welfare benefits and access to other services if they do not have an address.
- The most at risk people (generally coming from the State Care system) are coming from a very low base both intellectually and emotionally, and require intensive high support in all aspects of their lives in order to enable them to progress to the ultimate goal on interdependent living