Wexford Women's Refuge Completion
20 Sep, 2024
'Public Housing' takes many forms….
It’s been a phenomenally busy summer and we have been busy across the country on a variety of projects – but there is one we finished just a couple of weeks ago that deserves a quiet recognition.
OBFA recently handed over a new domestic violence refuge for women and children. The facility, which consists of 12 family units is the first of a number planned and has been funded by the Government through the Capital Assistance Fund and CUAN, the new statutory agency to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV).
Through a certain lens, this started as a housing delivery project with supports, to be delivered through the good offices of Wexford Co. Council and the Department of Housing. In this instance the project benefited from interdepartmental support from the Justice Department as a part of their own continued policy towards support for women who have - and continue to - experience domestic abuse. This in turn led to interactions with the more recently established agency, CUAN.
It brought me back a bit to work I did with Gerry Cahill, Sr. Stan and Focus Ireland way back in the early '90s at Stanhope Green - where the brief was somewhat the same....
It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with Minister McEntee on the spatial and social nuance required for this type of building, To her credit – she gets it; as does her colleague Minister Darragh O’Brien.
Complex as this was to build, to be honest the truly hard work is only beginning as the Refuge team commence the task of outreach, engagement, healthcare, childcare, protection, support, advocacy…. The list goes on.
So I felt it pertinent to recognise that this is Public Housing;
the quiet sort that you won’t hear a lot about;
which is doing a very very hard job in the background;
trying to provide an environment that is both safe and of comfort;
looking after those whose need is real and urgent.
The project team wish them the very very best and will endeavour to continue to support where we can.
Ciaran.