Homeless charity Depaul has revealed that they’ve helped 256 people to leave direct provision centres since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This figure involves 140 adults and 116 children, with 55 families included.
The charity worked exclusively with people who’d been granted legal status to remain in Ireland, across seven counties.
Depaul’s CEO, David Carroll commented on the numbers, saying: “Given what the country is dealing with at the moment we are really happy to see such a big move on rate in terms of our work within direct provision. “This work plays a vital role in helping people move on from direct provision once they have been granted legal status to remain in Ireland.”
He continued: “Since Covid-19 hit we have adapted our work practices enormously and I am proud to say we have still managed to provide vital support and help to help families and individuals move on from direct provision and to integrate into communities all across Ireland and to become part of Irish society.”
As of August 2020, there were 5,465 people residing in 44 centres across the country. An added 1,408 people were staying in emergency accommodation.
By the end of July, 810 people were housed in accommodation centres with legal status to remain in Ireland.
