Greencastle Parade Lifehouse

The service caters for families of various composition (mums, dads and children, legal guardians and their partners, etc.).

Majority of our families constitute of young mums and their children.

Family Hub values equality and diversity; we cater for families of various cultural background & religion.

Each family we house has their own room with an en suite bathroom, as well as a television, sofa, desk and bunk bed.

There are 2 training kitchens on the ground floor and 2 on the first floor, which are available for the residents within specific times.

Kitchenettes are fully equipped. Families also have 24/7 access to a laundry rooms located on each floor.

There is also a communal dining room, a toddler room and a library on the ground floor available for all the service users..

Families are expected to engage with HAP (Housing Assistance Payment) which is a form of social housing support provided by all local authorities. These local authorities can provide housing assistance for households who qualify for social housing support, including many long-term rent supplement recipients.

Families are expected to link in with both keyworkers and specialist support worker to organise and attend viewings. Key workers are responsible to assess service users’ needs and link them in with external services. The service recognises the importance of having families establishing strong relationships with external agencies prior to their move- on’s. 

It is hoped that families externally supported in the community will be in a better position to sustain their accommodation which will prevent them from re-entering the homelessness cycle.

The service offers a number of activities that are run by both internal TSA staff and externally sourced agents.

Internal activities include:

• Community meetings
• Mental Health Community – run by staff and service users focusing on promoting positive mental health
• HAP workshops
• Arts & Crafts for children
• Arts & Crafts for adults
• Afterschool clubs
• Gardening for children
• Various campaigns (Anti bulling week, positive mental health week)
• Seasonal (Easter, Christmas) activities and outings – cinema trips, zoo, wax museum excursions, jump zone etc.   

External activities include:

• TUSLA – Homeless Liaison Person
• Tripple P
• Aster – Family support
• Information sessions provided by MABS, Triple P parenting, Aster Family Services, Doras Bui Local Counselling Service.
• Cloaiste Dhulaigh College of Further Education  – providing Early Education programme on site to our residents.
• Kilmore Youth Project collaborating closely on helping our little service users accessing afterschool activities.
• Sphere 17 – providing afterschool activities.
• Paediatric First Aid workshops provided on site by Dublin City Childcare Committee
• Author sessions  through Coca Cola fund – award winning author delivering a creative writing sessions to our children (on site).
• Community Health Nurse meeting individual  families on a weekly basis (on site).
• Northside Partnership/ Citizens Information providing information sessions (on site).

Families also receive a weekly food parcel, distributed by TSA staff.

Families are referred to the service through the Central Placement Unit operated by DRHE.

Families are booked to the service trough PASS system.

The families are referred to the services based on their family composition and at times previous/existing links (i.e. children’s school, existing family, other services)  to the area.