Press Release
Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI), the national addiction and homeless services charity, have today launched an urgent appeal for support from the public to help fund its life-saving Mental Health Team.
From January to May this year, the Mental Health team at MQI cared for 313 clients, a 113% increase on the same period last year. As the homeless crisis continues to deepen, the charity is urgently appealing for donations to safeguard its mental health service.
Research by the Health Research Board found that 46%* of those who die when homeless have a history of mental health issues, highlighting the need for this crucial service. Living on the streets often means people are too fearful to sleep so, their mental health drastically suffers in a very short space of time. This means the Mental Health team are regularly faced with life and death situations and they save lives by helping people to find the strength to continue on.
Ellie, Mental Health Case Worker at Merchants Quay Ireland explains:
“We help some of the most vulnerable members of society, people who literally have no one else in the world to share their problems with. As you can imagine, your mental health can rapidly decline without a place to call home. Daily life can be unbearably gruelling without any stability or comfort or knowing where you will sleep each night. These people have often survived overwhelming trauma, yet they sadly feel ashamed about asking for help, but that’s where we come in! We listen and offer people hope where they thought there was none.”
CEO of MQI Eddie Mullins continues:
“Right now, we have a funding gap so, we are urgently appealing for support to safeguard our Mental Health team. The longer people are homeless, the more their mental health can suffer. We are seeing more and more people spending longer in the cycle of homelessness, which can lead to feelings of hopelessness and thinking there is no way out. Without a full team in place, we simply won’t be able to help the people who need it most, and lives could be lost.”
To help Merchants Quay Ireland save more lives, please visit www.mqi.ie/appeal
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Notes to the editor:
About Merchants Quay Ireland
Merchants Quay Ireland is a leading Irish charity working with people who are homeless and in addiction. The organisation provides services ranging from open access, crisis intervention and health promotion services to day-support programmes, educational programmes, vocational training, residential treatment, detox and prison counselling.
*https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40328/1/NDRDI_bulletin_Deaths_homeless_2020.pdf
