Connacht Tribune
COPE warns of growing crisis in homelessness
“This year, 2018, has been the single most challenging year we’ve experienced as an organisation, in terms of dealing with homelessness in Galway.” That is the stark assessment of this year by Assistant CEO of COPE Galway, Martin O’Connor, who warned that without a significant increase in the supply of housing in 2019, the homelessness crisis will worsen.
COPE’s Cold Weather Response has been in operation at the rear of its Teach Corrib Day Centre on the Seamus Quirke Road, Newcastle, since the end of November.
According to Mr O’Connor, an increase in the number of emergency beds at the facility is a sure indicator that things are getting worse when it comes to the numbers sleeping rough.
“We have additional night time accommodation this year with 21 beds – we can accommodate 23 by using some of the facilities in the day centre itself.
“Last year, it was a night time only service, where we opened at 9.30pm, but this year, we are open from 5.30pm,” said Mr O’Connor.
“In previous years, our Cold Weather Response experience would have been that in the early part of winter, while there was a demand, it wasn’t excessive – this year, that demand is there,” he added.
Day services at the Newcastle-based facility provide people with clothes washing and showering facilities and hot food.
Research carried out by the organisation in November revealed that homelessness among families is at an all-time high, with 145 households in emergency accommodation – 84 of which were families with a total of 192 children.
This survey of homelessness in Galway was carried out over a 24-hour period in advance of the commencement of the Cold Weather Response, and over that period, 27 rough sleepers were in touch with COPE Galway services.
“That means that they presented on the night to our Fairgreen Hostel, were in touch with our outreach piece that goes out in the early morning to engage with those sleeping rough, or they presented at the day centre.
“In addition to those 27, there are another 23 who we know to be sleeping rough either periodically or on a continuous basis,” said Mr O’Connor.
He believed that since 2014, those who once would have had a short stay in emergency accommodation were now, four years later, significantly more likely to end up in hotels and B&Bs on a long-term basis.
Additional housing is the one and only solution to the crisis, said Mr O’Connor, adding that Galway’s housing needs are unlikely to be met in 2019.
“The Government’s rebuilding Ireland policy initiative focuses on increasing new social housing units and that is the way forward – but it is taking longer than is ideal or needed.
“In Galway, it’ll be 2020 before there is any significant increase in the number of social houses available, and the number of private houses in the city is very low.
“That is a challenge. The demand is squeezing a cohort of people out of housing,” he said.
People who find themselves at the lower end of the ladder socio-economically are significantly affected when one or more additional challenge is thrown in their way, explained Mr O’Connor, adding that mental health and addiction problems, or families of children with disabilities are just some of challenges that can push people over the edge into homelessness.
Christmas is just another day in homeless services, said Mr O’Connor, but for those in emergency accommodation and those who are homeless, COPE does try to make it as special as it possibly can be.
The Giving Tree, run by a number of local charities, seeks donations for those who might need gifts more than most at Christmas.
“For many, particularly families, this is a godsend. It gives children the opportunity to have a decent gift at Christmas and for adults, they get more practical things like clothing.
“We have food hampers, which are delivered this week, providing people with staples like practical food items – the staples really,” said Mr O’Connor.
For those wishing to support COPE over the festive period, donations of all kinds are gratefully received.
“If people want their donation to go directly to the service users, it’s the small things like mobile phone credit that most of us take for granted,” said Mr O’Connor.
Donations such as these can be dropped to any COPE facility in Galway while financial contributions can also be made online at copegalway.ie/donate
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
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Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
