This article is from page 65 of the 2008-08-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 65 JPG
AN EIGHT month campaign to pro- vide better services for the homeless in Ennis received a major boost last week with the announcement that a CNKeyombOMectscomnysU0mKO)e\o0 TOMO sComcOdyvar| in September.
The Sara Finn centre will operate from premises on Chapel Lane and will be run by the HELP organisa- tion, a local group who provide as- sistance and support to the homeless community in Ennis and others faced with difficult social problems.
The centre is named after the late Sara Finn who died in June. It will be
Open seven days a week from 10am to 12 midday and from 8pm-10pm.
“The centre will cater for anyone with social problems and who feel they need to come in and talk about it,’ said HELP committee member, Josephine O’Brien.
“They can stay as long as they like and we will try and provide them with as much support as possible. It’s a place where people can just come and relax and be themselves, play PlayStation or whatever. We will also be looking to organize other ac- OAs La loee
Itis hoped that the centre will be and running by September 15. O’Brien,
one of the founders of HELP, said the opening of the centre would be a “very special moment” for everyone involved with the organisation.
“We have been working hard for this and its great to finally get it up and running. Its special for me and its very special for everyone who has worked hard for it”.
HELP are also appealing for vo- lounteers to come and work at the centre.
“We are really looking for people to help out and volunteer. The place we have in Chapel Lane needs a bit of painting. There is a bit of work to be done so we’re going to start into
that as soon as possible”.
The announcement comes after a dinner dance organized by HELP and held last week in the Ennis, raised €3000 for the Sara Finn Drop Oo tlbKee
O’Brien thanked all those who at- tended and donated money on the night.
“We had a great night” she said, “We raised a good bit of money and that will come in use for getting the centre up and running. It was bril- liant that we got so many people down there. Sara’s mother Karol was there. It was a great night and a really great turn-out”.