A charity that helps people in Co Wexford with issues relating to mental health, homelessness and addiction has announced its closure, citing an overwhelming workload and financial challenges.
Voluntary organisation Wexford People Helping People, also known as Sanctuary Wexford, is based in Wexford town and helped people across the county in its close to ten-year existence.
The charity operated a drop-in centre and provided hot food, tents and sleeping bags, as well as assisting with connections to hotels, B&Bs and local counselling services.
Director of the charity Wally O'Neill said he felt the service was letting people down by closing.
"The charity had been going from strength to strength with very little funding, and we managed to pay for counselling sessions, food supplies and rough sleeping equipment for hundreds of people. But unfortunately, whatever we did never seemed to be enough to meet the current demand.
"The level of need out there is unfortunately huge, and it’s not receding at all. It has been overwhelming and has taken its toll on our volunteers in recent weeks and months," Mr O’Neill said.
He said that some of the stories the teams heard from people had caused mental strain on the volunteers and that many no longer felt equipped to deal with it.
"There are so many people in pain out there and a lot of people just want to talk to someone.
"A lot of the people we have helped are just good people who fell on the wrong side of things, particularly when it comes to drug use and mental health, the resources just aren’t there for people.
"There’s a lot of shame in addiction, and it felt to us like gardaí are fighting a losing battle against drugs.
"We are very lucky to have services like the Cornmarket Project and Ozanam House in Wexford, and they are doing great work, but they are not big enough to meet the demand and are overrun.
"There’s also not enough public housing stock for people. Even people that you’d consider to be doing everything right, they can’t get onto the next step and find a place to live," he said.
He added that he felt that State-provided services in the southeast were broken.
"The charity always had a great outpouring of support from the public and we are very grateful for that, but financially it is no longer feasible to continue," Mr O’Neill said.
Jim Codd, an Aontú councillor who volunteered with the service, said that he felt a void now needed to be filled following the loss of the organisation.
"This is a perfect storm in relation to housing, mental health and a drugs epidemic. This group was a humane shining light. The drop-in service was open every day to anyone who found themselves in need and offered refuge to the most vulnerable people on the fringes.
He said it was a "dreadful loss" to the area, and added: "People in a hopeless predicament trusted the volunteers and told their stories, often very difficult stories, and in doing so information could be gathered, and they could be directed to services they were in need of."
Independent Councillor Leonard Kelly said that the closure of the service highlighted a "bigger picture".
"The reason organisations like this one exist in the first place is because people are falling through the gaps, as there are challenges across all systems including addiction, homelessness and mental health.
"It angers me, and I have to ask why aren’t we getting this right as a wealthy country? There’s something missing if a country cannot properly deal with the issue of addiction, homelessness and mental health, and allows voluntary organisations to pick up the slack."
He called for more funding for State-run services, saying that resources need to be allocated in the right way.
"Communities can end up being ripped apart by anti-social behaviour in the aftermath if this isn’t managed properly.
"A lot of people on the acute side of this crisis have very complex needs, and it’s an ever-changing scene when it comes to drugs, and needs to be dealt with in an agile way as new substances and opioids come along, and I just don’t think this is there for people.
"As councillors, all we can do is refer people and signpost them to available services," Cllr Kelly added.
In a statement, Wexford County Council said it has long established working relationships with several statutory and State-funded partners to provide services to those experiencing homelessness, including out-of-hours cover.
"Critically, for those experiencing homelessness, the service provision extends to more than accommodation, with social workers, social care workers, tenancy sustainment officers and mental health staff supporting those experiencing homelessness to access services and reestablish a long term, sustainable tenancy.
It added that the Housing Section is currently working on a joint funding submission led by the Cornmarket Project (part of Wexford Local Development) and supported by the HSE and Wexford County Council.
"This programme seeks to establish a stabilisation programme for long-term, complex homeless cases, linked to secure accommodation; enhancements to the current drop-in homeless day service as well as enhancing service provision during extreme weather events," the council said.
