New Midlands Service for homeless opens in Tullamore

Sophia, the National Housing and Homeless Charity, has opened a new Midlands service in Tullamore which will cater for those in need of emergency accommodation.

The Midlands Regional Supported Accommodation service, opened just before Christmas and is located at the former Clonamore House Hotel on the Arden Road. It will accommodate between 17 and 20 people.

To date,12 people have been referred to the service from Laois, Offaly and Westmeath, but it is expected to grow its capacity in 2025

Michael McCarthy Chairperson of Sophia said he was delighted that the service was now up and running and added, ''it will offer a welcoming, compassionate and professional service for people in need of accommodation.''

Purchased by Sophia Housing in 2020 the original intention was that the facility would be managed by Midlands Simon, however, they later withdrew from the project and it will now be run exclusively by Sophia Housing.

The new service will be known as Cill Bhríde; Tony O’Riordan C.E.O of Sophia said the name of the service is very significant as ''Saint Brigid has a lot of local connections with Offaly and the Midlands and people associate the values of hospitality and caring with Brigid. These values are at the core of what Sophia is offering in Cill Bhríde. Sophia is very conscious that the experience of being homeless is traumatic and that Sophia’s role is to support people to recover from the impact of homelessness.''

Each person will have their own private living space, their own ensuite bedroom and spacious green spaces that promotes well-being and recovery from homelessness.

''Sophia sees Cill Bhride as a safe, secure, welcoming place where people will receive a professional and quality service. When people are referred to Sophia it will be their first step in their journey out of homelessness and hopefully securing a home of their own.''

Mr O’Riordan acknowledged that this essential service would never have been possible without Offaly, Westmeath, Laois and Longford County Councils; they together with the Department of Housing provided the support to make this service a reality. Mr O’Riordan also acknowledged the vital support of the HSE.

One group welcoming the opening is Tullamore Housing Association which had been providing emergency accommodation for clients of Midlands Simon for the last number of years at its facilities at Lan Elo at the back of Clontarf Road. These will now transfer to Cill Bhride.

Tommy McKeigue, Trustee of the association, says; ''We had seven clients. We will have to revamp the units now. We had six in one unit and one in the other. They had a communal kitchen.''

Mc McKeigue says the units will now be returned to single units and provide accommodation for those on the Offaly County Council housing waiting list. Work will begin on the refurbishment in the New Year.

Meanwhile, Sophia says it aims to provide 100 homes for people in need of housing by the end of 2025. The organisation already provides over 22 homes in the Midlands and is currently constructing 52 homes on the site of the former Presentation Sisters convent in Portlaoise. It says its target is that by Christmas 2025, 100 homes will be available in the Midlands providing homes for individuals, couples and families.