Call for emergency homeless number to be publicised
People attempting to help a man who was left homeless overnight in Athlone struggled to find an emergency out-of-hours number for homeless services, Monday's Westmeath County Council meeting in Athlone heard.
Athlone's Mayor Cllr Aengus O'Rourke relayed details of a situation which arose in the town where a man found himself homeless overnight, and those who encountered him tried to call some kind of emergency number to help but could not find one on either on the council or Midlands Simon Community websites, something the local authority said it has since rectified.
Cllr O'Rourke said he attempted to find a number the following day and he too had the same issues; however, he later confirmed that there is an emergency out-of-hours number for homeless services in operation between 6pm and midnight in Westmeath for someone who finds themselves without a bed for the night.
Calling on Westmeath County Council to publicise the emergency number better, the Fianna Fail representative maintained it should be “front and centre” and the local authority should be encouraging others to do the same.
In saying that, Cllr O'Rourke also expressed the view that a service that only operates until midnight is not adequate. “People can find themselves in dire circumstances at any time,” he noted at the December meeting in Athlone Civic Centre.
Dealing with his comments, Mark Keaveney, Director of Services with responsibility for housing, explained that the out-of-hours service which only started last year operates between 6pm and midnight, generally the time when most of these situations arise outside of office hours.
He said there are ahead of the posse in providing such a service, but he did take the point of the need to promote it better, and it is now available on the council website. In addition, gardai and those working with the homeless have the number, Mr Keaveney told the meeting.
A short message on the housing section of the Westmeath County Council website says the Midlands Simon Community helpline is available from 6pm-12am on 087 445 4542.