30 homeless people in Dublin refused to come in off the streets last night.
Teams have been working around the clock to make sure there is enough shelter for rough sleepers during this week's freezing weather.
Volunteer Geraldine Molloy from @ICHHDUBLIN with warm clothes for those sleeping rough pic.twitter.com/uWF2R60lQL
— Juliette Gash (@JulietteGash) March 1, 2018
The Peter McVerry Trust had 106 beds allocated at Extreme Cold Weather Service in a sports centre in the South Inner City.
The Housing First Street Intake Team managed to encourgae a number of people sleeping rough to come in off the streets.
However, 16 people in the city centre and 14 in the wider Dublin region, declined to come into emergency shelter.
If you need help or wish to report the location of anyone in need of assistance during Storm Emma, here are the numbers you need to know.
📞Dublin freephone: 1800 707 707
📞Dublin Housing First Street intake team: 086 813 9015.
📞Kildare freephone: 1800 804 307— Peter McVerry Trust (@PMVTrust) March 1, 2018
Pat Doyle from the Peter Mc Verry Trust has been outlining why some people need to be persuaded to come indoors.
"Some of these people have been sleeping rough for a very long time, so it's partly habit".
He explained that they also might not want to join others inside because of "mental health, addiction, trust" and other issues.
Teams say they will re-engage with those still on the streets today, in the hope of encouraging them to take shelter.
The Taoiseach has praised the efforts of all those involved in looking after the homeless during the red weather alert.
