New campaign launched to help prevent homelessness in Waterford

Focus Ireland has launched a new public awareness campaign to help prevent homelessness in the South East area, including Waterford with the support of funding from their corporate partner Bord Gáis Energy.

This public awareness initiative will help support families and individuals in private rented accommodation to recognise the early warning signs or “red flags” that can help prevent a housing problem becoming a housing crisis.

With the alarming rise in housing challenges, Focus Ireland seeks to equip people with the knowledge and resources needed through its a Advice and Information services helpline and dedicated webpage. This includes, sourcing legal advice, arranging mediation with the landlord and engaging with local authority if required.

David Niblock of Focus Ireland Waterford said:

“We are urging people to contact our Advice & Information services and hopefully our staff can help to prevent a housing problem from becoming a homeless crisis. The most important thing is for people to call us for advice and support as soon as possible.”

He added:

“Focus Ireland operates a number of advice and information services across the South East, in collaboration with local authorities in the region.

“While a lot of the work of these services is to support people who have become homeless to navigate services and make the earliest exit from homelessness, we are also committed to increasing the amount of prevention work that we carry out as part of our support for Housing For All and the regional homeless plan.

“A heartfelt thank you must go to our long-term corporate partner, Bord Gáis Energy, whose funding and valuable support played a key role in making this campaign a reality.”

“This new advertising campaign is to address what I know is a common experience - that too often people contact us too late for us to help them avoid homelessness.

“So, as part of our push towards addressing this and having a greater impact on preventing homelessness we have decided to promote the advice service more actively to people who may be facing eviction.”

By supporting Focus Ireland and its new public awareness initiative, Bord Gáis Energy aims to highlight the importance of early intervention and the significant impact it can have on preventing homelessness.

Catherine Lonergan, Director of Energy, Marketing & Data at Bord Gáis Energy, added:

“We’re proud to strengthen our longstanding partnership with Focus Ireland by providing funding for their Advice and Information services. This is in addition to supporting a regional awareness campaign talking to those in private rented accommodation who are vulnerable to tenancy terminations.”

With the concerning rise in homeless figures across Ireland, offering timely, expert advice to those at risk is crucial in preventing families becoming homeless across Ireland.

This initiative builds on the immense work accomplished by Focus Ireland together with Bord Gáis Energy since the beginning of our partnership in 2015. To date, through a wide variety of initiatives, the partnership with Bord Gáis Energy has raised €4.4 million and supported over 8,000 families at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness.

Those with concerns about their tenancy security can log onto focusireland.ie or contact Focus Ireland’s Advice and Information services at 016712555, Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 4 pm.

Alternatively, they can reach out through the 24/7 web form on focusireland.ie where a member of the Advice and Information team will aim to respond within 24 hours.