Newry help the homeless group set up in town
THE Newry Help the Homeless have set up weekend services outside St Peter’s Church to assist the homeless and those in need.
A 13 strong group arrived at 8pm on Saturday night and immediately set up a serving area and within 15 minutes had a number of people seeking assistance.
The group intend to come to Drogheda each Friday and Saturday from now on at 8pm, providing tea, hot food and a chamge of clothes for people. They will also have the services of a hairdresser and a dentist.
Mayor Pio Smith was on hand to welcome the group and said that a hot meal is welcome for people on the streets.
The Newry group has been on the go for two years and also operate services in Dublin and Dundalk.
Their Dublin service sees local shops donating food at the end of business to hand out. Their work has already been featured on RTE and Sky.
Volunteer Margaret Devlin Blair says it’s a great cross border initiative and they decided on the Drogheda link following a discussion with local woman Marie Walsh.
‘Not only do we provide food, but we find places for people to live’, she states.
She says the increase in numbers in Dublin has been ‘scary, - especially in the last six months. ‘We can also provide advice for people and the team is very excited about the Drogheda move. We also bring sleeping bags and tents and have a mini bus’, Margaret explained.
For those wishing to know more about the service, Newry Help for the Homeless is on Facebook and Margaret can be contacted via Facebook too - Margaret Devlin Blair.
Last Friday also saw a special mass in the Dominican Church for the homeless and Fr Jim Donleavy was delighted with the turnout on the evening.