New regional homeless accommodation service opens in Tullamore
Housing and homelessness charity Sophia has announced the opening in Tullamore of its new Midlands regional service for people of need of emergency accommodation.
The facility, Cill Bhríde, is a refurbished premises that was formerly the Clonamore House Hotel on Arden Road, Tullamore.
In a statement today (Friday), Sophia said that, to date, 12 people from Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath had been referred to the emergency accommodation service at Cill Bhríde.
"The service will grow its capacity and, in 2025, it will be able to provide accommodation for between 17 and 20 people at any one time," it added.
Michael McCarthy, chairperson of Sophia, commented: "We are delighted that this much-needed service has opened before Christmas and that it will offer a welcoming, compassionate and professional service for people in need of accommodation."
Mr McCarthy outlined that Sophia, with the support of Offaly County Council and the Department of Housing, had acquired and refurbished the former Clonamore House Hotel premises.
Tony O'Riordan, CEO of Sophia, said the new Cill Bhríde name was 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.
"Because of this, Sophia has designed this service so that each person will have their own private living space, their own ensuite bedroom and spacious green spaces that promote wellbeing 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 the support of Offaly, Westmeath, Laois and Longford County Councils; together with the Department of Housing and the HSE.
Sophia said it's also aiming to provide 100 homes for people in need of housing by the end of 2025.
The charity said it already provides over 22 homes in the Midlands and is currently constructing 52 homes on the site for the former Presentation Sisters convent in Portlaoise.