Download the 2002 Annual report here - Focus Ireland

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44 Lobbying for change Falling rates of economic growth, a slowdown in job creation and falling income growth were issues for all of us this year. Focus Ireland remains committed to the challenge of reducing the growing gap between rich and poor, tackling inequality and social exclusion and undertaking action to solve the ongoing housing crisis. JERRY’S STORY Jerry became homeless in August 2001 and as a result of a serious medical condition received medical priority from the local authority in October 2001. In February 2002 our staff were told that it would take a further six months before Jerry would be housed. Almost 18 months after Jerry received medical priority he is still living in B&B accommodation and is being consistently told there is nothing available. In November 2002 Jerry was 20th on the housing list for one-bedroom accommodation, five months later he is number 19th. Education Programme Education is an important part of our public awareness work to improve understanding of the problems and also to act as an early intervention tool, especially in the case of young people who are in high-risk situations that could result in homelessness. This year saw Focus Ireland continue to develop its school talks with the help of our specially trained team of seven volunteers led by the coordinator of the programme. The education programme also acts to support our existing modules for the Leaving Certificate Applied and Civic, Social and Political Education programmes which are part of the curriculum in many secondary schools. Both initiatives are also supported by the use of the Focus Ireland video ‘Have you no home to go to’ which portrays the experiences of young people, adults and families who are, or who have been homeless. For the past six years Focus Ireland has provided training to "Phase Three" student Gardaí in Templemore. The training programme is provided by Focus Ireland staff and aims to increase awareness about the complex issues faced by people who are homeless. It also provides the student Gardaí with practical information about homeless services available so they will be able to assist people they deal with in the course of their work. Election 2002 Unfortunately stories like Jerry’s are becoming all too common. The 2002 election, as well a further increase in the local authority waiting lists, led us once again to develop a campaign calling for the government to tackle the housing problem once and for all. We called for a number of actions to be taken by the incoming Government: - New legislation providing for a Right to Housing. - Integrated and comprehensive strategies to be developed by all local authorities to effectively address homelessness - Urgent action to be taken to effectively cut the housing waiting lists The main components of the preelection campaign included writing to TDs and Senators along with advocacy advertising in the Irish Times. In conjunction with this we distributed 50,000 postcards to the general public outlining solutions to this problem, and urged voters to take-up this issue with their TDs.
Budget 2002 – a missed opportunity We believe the 2002 budget was an opportunity for the Government to make serious inroads into the homeless problem. As part of our prebudget campaign we asked for increased investment in social housing, instead the Government cut a staggering €50 million from the housing budget. In the year ahead we will continue to contribute to policy and political forums on housing and race, fundamental rights, child poverty and planning and development issues, and to speak up for some of the most socially excluded people in Irish society today. Focus Ireland Research Research is a key component of the work of Focus Ireland, helping to identify trends in homelessness, and putting forward recommendations and solutions to help tackle the specific problems it identifies. Studies released in 2002 Housing Access for All This report, an analysis of housing strategies and homeless action plans, was launched in July. This research was initiated in response to new policy developments in 2000, which included the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the publication of Homelessness An Integrated Strategy. The purpose of the research was to explore the information emerging regarding social need and exclusion and to analyse the likely contribution of these two policy documents. The research study was funded by the Combat Poverty Agency and carried out by Focus Ireland in collaboration with St. Vincent de Paul, Simon Communities of Ireland and Threshold. The four organizations involved in this research are taking positive action to use its findings to try and influence Government and policy makers to ensure the Housing Strategies and the Homeless Action Plans are effective in providing housing and accommodation to people most in need. The four organisations are planning to meet with the key players from the different groups of policy influencers affecting the HS and HAPs to discuss our policy position. The main aim is to affect change in national and local housing policy. The different target groups are critical to housing/ homeless provision in the context of the Homeless Action Plans / Housing Strategies. They are senior Department of the Environment staff, party spokespersons on Housing / Accommodation, Trade Unions, members of the local Homeless Forums and Housing Strategic Policy Committees, and senior Health Board officials charged with homeless service provision. At the end of 2002 this important work was still on-going and will be further developed over the next year. The full research is available at www.focusireland.ie . Crime and Homelessness This valuable joint project in collaboration with PACE (Prisoners Aid Through Community Effort) explored the link between crime and homelessness and prison release and made a number of key recommendations for changes to help prisoners avoid becoming homeless upon release. 45
Page 1 and 2: Annual Report & Accounts 2002 IRELA
Page 4 and 5: FOCUS IRELAND is one of the leading
Page 6 and 7: Foreword Focus Ireland has a proud
Page 9 and 10: Meeting the need 07
Page 13 and 14: Meeting the need The first port of
Page 15: THE FOCUS IRELAND COFFEE SHOP AND H
Page 18: BY TREATING PEOPLE WITH RESPECT AND
Page 22: The Extension Drop-in Centre Opens
Page 27 and 28: Meeting the need Families in Focus
Page 29 and 30: In 2002, as in previous years, the
Page 31 and 32: Happy Birthday Aylward Green Aylwar
Page 35 and 36: Meeting the need Moving on
Page 37: We are always happy when we hear su
Page 40 and 41: I’M DELIGHTED I CAME HERE, I’VE
Page 42 and 43: THE PLACES WE CALL HOME - Focus Ire
Page 45: Research, Development and Education
Page 50 and 51: The pressure on Focus Ireland to ge
Page 53 and 54: Investing in our staff
Page 57 and 58: New in 2003

Download the 2002 Annual report here - Focus Ireland

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