Call for safe housing for people recovering from addiction - Donegal News

CALLS have been made to end homeless shelters and ensure the safety of people leaving addiction treatment centres in Donegal.

At a recent meeting of Glenties Municipal District (MD), Independent Cllr Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig raised concerns for people recovering from addiction who have no choice but to move into shared emergency accommodation.

Donegal’s homeless shelters are located in Letterkenny and Bundoran, outside the Glenties MD.

Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig told the meeting that people recovering from addiction should have their own homes to go to.

“People coming out of treatment centres like to recover,” he said as Gaeilge. “Sharing with other people doesn’t work.”

Speaking to the Donegal News after the meeting, Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig said that homeless shelters should not exist in a functioning society.

“We should always aspire to end homeless shelters,” he said.

“We can do that – the government chooses not to do that – but in the interim, I work with a lot of people with addiction, who are vulnerable.

“Then there are others who find themselves not in the same place but yet sharing the same space, and that’s not ideal for anybody, especially those who are trying to recover.”

Area Manager for Corporate and Housing, Michael Rowsome, responded to Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig’s concerns. He said there are three people employed in the council’s homeless section.

This includes a newly appointed Tenancy Sustainment Officer, who will support clients moving from emergency accommodation into social housing and help with issues such as paying rents and accessing Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

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