Who to contact if you are homeless
About Us
Our History
In May 2000, the Irish Government committed to tackling homelessness through the launch of Homelessness – An Integrated Strategy (2000), which aimed to address the range of issues that impact on homelessness nationally, was prepared under the aegis of the Cross Departmental Team on Homelessness, working closely with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Following on from this, the Homeless Preventative Strategy was launched in February 2002 to ensure that preventative initiatives were agreed and implemented, to target at risk groups leaving institutional care.
Each Government department with responsibilities under these strategies was then brought together as part of the overall approach to coordinate services through the Cross Departmental Team on Homelessness, chaired by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and including the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. As part of this, 34 local homeless forums, as well as Action Plans to address homelessness were established across the 5 city councils and 29 county councils in Ireland, including the four local authorities in Dublin. The Dublin City homeless forum was sub-divided into five forums for each of the functional areas.
The Homeless Agency was established in Dublin in 2001 in response to the higher levels of homelessness experienced in the city than elsewhere in Ireland at that time. It followed on from the former Homeless Initiative, which was established in 1996.
The Vision of the Homeless Agency, guides the work to be completed under each of the action plans. A key to the door 2007-2010 is the Homeless Agency’s current Action Plan. It follows Shaping the Future (2001-2003) and Making it Home (2004-2006). A key to the door covers the period from 2007-2010, in order to bring the Agency to the completion of its four-year action plan and its ten-year vision.