In 2012, Merchant’s Quay Ireland served in excess of 76,000 hot meals
and treated over 3,000 drug users at its various centres throughout the
country.
The charity is poised to serve 100,000 meals to Ireland’s homeless
and hungry this year, despite the fact that statutory funding continues
to significantly contract.
The information is revealed in MQI’s 2012 annual report which was
launched on Friday by the Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton,
TD.
In his overview of the year, Chief Executive, Tony Geoghan said 2012
had “taught us that the issues of homelessness and drug use are not
insurmountable and can be addressed with imagination, goodwill, humanity
and a commitment to equality and social justice.”
But he added that this required a willingness and commitment on the
part of the Government to engage strategically with the community and
voluntary sectors to take care of the wellbeing of the most marginalised
and vulnerable citizens by prioritising their needs and providing
adequate resources to address them.
He highlighted that MQI had experienced a strong demand for its
programmes in 2012.
“Our Dublin based needle exchange service recorded
20,847 client visits, showing an increase of almost 2,000 visits from
2011,” he noted.
A total of 3,634 individuals accessed MQI’s needle exchange programme during 2012, of which 558 were new users of the service.
Tony Geoghan also warned that the spread of drug use outside of
Dublin was an on-going trend detected by the charity with continued
demand for its services at regional level.
In his summary of the year, Mick Price, Chairman of the Board of
Directors, paid tribute to the role of the Franciscan Community whose
“prescient vision made MQI possible.”
He added, “I want to express our gratitude to this community for its
outstanding generosity, both material and spiritual, which continually
supports and sustains our organisation.”
Five of the seven member of MQI’s board of directors are Franciscans,
including the provincial, Rev Hugh McKenna OFM, who acts as Chairman.
Among the highlights for 2012, the annual report referred to the
grand opening of the newly refurbished Riverbank Open Assess Day
Services facility on Merchant’s Quay in the summer of 2012.
Other highlights included the relaunch of the newly refurbished Open
Door Homeless and Drugs Centre in Athlone and the opening of a
residential detoxification centre in Co Carlow with special facilities
to help benzodiazepines (sleeping tablets and tranquilisers) withdrawal.
Half of the patients at the centre are being treated for addiction to
these drugs.
However, 2012 also saw expenditure rise from €7.4m in 2011 to €7.9m
in 2012 leaving MQI with a deficit of 77k compared to its surplus of
€27k in 2011.
Outside Dublin, MQI’s Midlands Harm Reduction Outreach Service worked
with an average of 130 clients a month in 2012, providing over 3,000
needle exchange interventions.
Acknowledging that Merchant’s Quay Ireland had experienced the impact
of the economic recession, Tony Geoghan said this had been encountered
through continued reductions in statutory funding for its services.
“Notwithstanding these cuts in funding, we have successfully managed to retain our core services,” he said.
Commenting on MQI’s ethos, he said it was committed to the vision
that it “Believe in and cherish the value of every human being in
keeping with our commitment to social justice coming from our origins in
the Franciscan Tradition.”