Service Reform Fund Project
The Service Reform Fund (SRF) has been established to support the implementation of reforms in Disability, Mental Health and Homelessness in Ireland. The Homelessness programme commenced in 2018 and is being implemented through an integrated approach by the
- Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
- Local Authorities
- the Department of Health
- HSE.
This is in line with the ‘Rebuilding Ireland – Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness’ (Department of Housing, 2016).
The initiative aims to address the complex housing and health needs, including mental health and addiction needs, of people who are homeless and improve their access to housing and healthcare.
The SRF Homelessness Programme will focus on three key work areas
- Support 100 additional housing-led tenancies in Cork, Limerick and Galway.
- Explore whether the existing ‘housing first’ initiative in Dublin requires additional integration and enhancement of health supports.
- Improve integrated pathways and joint working through a pilot implementation of a Dublin-wide homeless hospital discharge policy and enhanced screening and referral processes for housing first tenancies.
Funding will also be provided under the Service Reform Fund to conduct a three-year evaluation across the three SRF Homelessness Initiative Work Areas and 4-5 geographical sites.
Homeless Hospital Discharge Pilot-Project
In line with the SRF project, pilot implementation and evaluation of a Dublin homeless hospital discharge protocol will commence in 2018.
An oversight committee consisting of HSE Social Inclusion, Acute Hospital, Mental Health and Primary Care divisions, Dublin Region Homeless Executive and the Homeless Network has been established to oversee
- development of an approach
- finalisation of a protocol
- implementation and
- evaluation of the pilot-project.
The interagency approach aims to prevent over-use of hospitals by ensuring that people being discharged from hospital who are homeless have a coordinated discharge plan that includes access to appropriate and on-going health care and stable housing. The protocol will be adapted from the National Homeless Hospital Discharge Policy.
