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Welcome Home
9 Annsbrook
Clonskeagh
Dublin14
Ireland.
T: +353 1 2830745
F: +353 1 283 0746
E: info@welcomehome.ie
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Fr.Peter McVerry
Peter McVerry began his priestly ministry in the inner city of Dublin in 1974. At this time he came into contact with young people who were sleeping on the streets because of the inadequacy of their home situation.
In 1979 he opened a hostel for homeless boys, aged 12-16, from the inner city. He is still a member of the Board of Management of this hostel. It is now fully funded by the Health Board. It was as a result of his experiences with boys leaving this hostel at 16 or 17 years of age and having nowhere to go, except back to the streets, that Peter McVerry set about providing services and accommodation for this older age group.
Since early 1990s, the Health Boards have been given statutory responsibility for the under 18 age group which means that services have improved and, while still far from perfect, most homeless young people in this age group are reasonably well catered for. However a shortage of appropriate accommodation and services for the over 18s, who have no legal right to any accommodation, has created a crisis for this age group, who if they are not helped and supported at an early stage, become much more difficult to help. It is the 18-25 age group that is now the primary focus of Peter’s time and attention.
Fr. Peter McVerry provides 2 hostels for the under 18 age group, one hostel for the over 18 age group, one drug detox house and two aftercare houses. Each house or hostel caters for 6 or 7 people at a time. He also provides three apartments to those seeking to return to a normal lifestyle.
New Facilities
2006 saw the opening of two new facilities which will help provide a broader service to young homeless people.
A respite centre opened to provide short-term accommodation to people in crisis who need to take a break from their current situation. This will provide them with a caring and friendly environment. The respite centre will also be available to young drug users who are in recovery but who have relapsed and require a safe and supportive environment in which to regain their motivation to stay drug free.
An Education/Development Centre was opened in the city centre in September. Most people that Fr. Peter McVerry deals with have missed out on formal education and have, therefore, no qualifications or training. The new centre will offer an education and personal development service and will be tailored to the needs of each individual. The centre will provide services such as advice and support, personal planning, counselling, education and employment search. It will also be offered as a drop-in centre providing support and encouragement. A kitchen and dining facility will also be available.
Fr. Peter McVerry’s Vision
Fr Peter McVerry is seeking to provide the highest possible quality care for young homeless people living in the hostels.
"It is our policy to provide a warm, caring, safe and supportive environment for the young people living there. We try to provide stability for young people so that they can attempt to deal in a positive way with emotional or behavioural problems, which they might experience. We try to encourage and help the young people living there to develop or maintain positive relationships with their family, where appropriate. We attempt to equip the boys for independent living during their stay. We support and help them to find employment, training courses or schooling, as appropriate to each one's needs. Ultimately, our objective is to help young people to take control of their own lives and not remain as victims of forces, internal or external, beyond their control.
We seek to provide an atmosphere in which young people not only receive support and encouragement from staff but also offer such support and encouragement to each other.
Our philosophy is based on current child-care thinking, namely:
to work with small numbers of young people in family-sized residential units rather
 than larger, more institutional buildings.
to keep young people close to their communities as far as possible so that they can
retain whatever support structures already exist in their lives and more easily relate to
their families.
In order to facilitate strong relationships between staff and young people, we are
committed to using full-time staff as far as possible, occasionally using volunteers
where they have a specific contribution to make."
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