Novas Annual Report 2022

Annual Report 2022
McGARRY HOUSE
McGarry House is a mixed-gender STA service in Limerick, providing up to 46
units of single-room accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. It
is a low-threshold service, operating from a harm reduction, trauma informed
perspective. Clients present with complex and co-occuring issues relating to
dual diagnosis, social isolation and generational poverty, including experiences
of episodic child homelessness.
In 2022, exit pathways for clients living in McGarry House were very limited,
with some 53% of residents living there for longer than six months. Lack
of throughput from the service was bound to the lack of one-bed units of
accommodation, combined with soaring rents. Many residents have spent
years on the social housing waiting list, ready to move out of homeless
accommodation and on with their lives.
With our partners in Limerick City and County Council, we are working hard
to find new opportunities for independent living for McGarry House residents,
including repurposing vacant city centre buildings into one-bed apartment
complexes. Two of these buildings will be tenanted by quarter four 2023 and
will be a home for life for some of our current residents.
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