Award for street drinking projectin city

Foyle Haven, which is under the auspices of Depaul Ireland, received an Impact Award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to improving health care among street drinkers in the City.

Foyle Haven is a project which provides a safe, accessible centre for street drinkers and the organisation was presented with its healthcare accolade at a ceremony in London on May 12.

Foyle Haven provides programmes which help drinkers overcome some of the underlying symptoms of addiction, such as depression and low self-esteem.

It helps with personal care, providing nutritious meals, and meeting a range of physical and mental health needs.

Kerry Anthony, CEO of Depaul Ireland said: “Our model of harm reduction has proved a successful intervention in tackling addiction and reducing the harm our service users cause to themselves. We accept people where they are at and Foyle Haven is an excellent example of this working to improve lives. Without it, many of those we help, may not have got the support they need and perhaps this may have led to an untimely death on the streets, as we have seen previously in other cities around the UK and Ireland. We seek to prevent at all costs by being accessible to those who most need our support.

“We are delighted to receive the IMPACT Award which highlights the importance of this work and the value of supporting those who are often considered too difficult to work with group” she continued.

Over the last two years, Foyle Haven has worked with 80 individuals on 12,000 occasions and its health workers have facilitated over 700 medical interventions, including registrations with GPs and referrals to treatment centres.

The IMPACT Awards have been running since 1997 and are designed to recognise and reward charities that are doing excellent work to improve people’s health.