Wexford prepares to accommodate refugee families

SYRIAN refugee families are due to be given accommodation in a centre in Wexford town and in at least one other town in the county in late Spring.

Wexford County Council CEO Tom Enright said 18 refugee families are due to arrive and to be processed and housed in the county. It comes as part of the last Government’s promise to help rehouse those that have been displaced in the civil war in Syria.

Mr Enright said the families will most likley be accommodated in two centres in the county, one in Wexford and one in a town, yet to be decided. ‘We are putting together some units for them. We want to cluster the families as much as we possible so they have social support, health support, and education and language supports,’ he said.

He confirmed that one of the centres will be located in Wexford town. ‘We haven’t decided exactly until we see the make up of the families.’

Mr Enright, who is on a national taskforce for refugees, said the county needs to play its part when the refugees arrive in April and May. A local coordination group has been established with the HSE.

Once the refugees they arrive they will be given refugee status and then they will be entitled to the same entitlements as Irish citizens.

Meanwhile, Wexford County Council is looking for a provider for support and assistance, including a resettlement worker with appropriate supports, to the Syrian refugees.

It says successful tenderers will be required to work in partnership with local service providers and the Wexford Interagency Resettlement Working Group to support the inclusion of the refugees in mainstream service provision.

They will also be required to appoint a suitably qualified Resettlement Support Worker or workers who will manage the project and will be the point of contact for Syrian Programme Refugees in County Wexford.

The worker will establish community based support networks where the refugees are based, assist the refugees in accessing local services, guide refugees as they negotiate life in a new environment, monitor and record issues as they arise and mentor the refugees so that they can manage their own lives by the end of the project.

The contract will run for one year at a fixed price with up to three one year renewal options.