CIRCLE VHA CELEBRATES FIRST DIRECT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WITH GROUNDBREAKING EVENT AT RICHMOND PLACE MARKING A UNIQUE NEW MODEL OF HOUSING AND CARE PROVISION IN IRELAND IN COLLABORATION WITH ALONE

CIRCLE VHA CELEBRATES FIRST DIRECT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WITH GROUNDBREAKING EVENT AT RICHMOND PLACE MARKING A UNIQUE NEW MODEL OF HOUSING AND CARE PROVISION IN IRELAND IN COLLABORATION WITH ALONE

ʻHOUSING WITH SUPPORTʼ TOOLKIT LAUNCH TO SET BENCHMARK FOR FUTURE OF INDEPENDENT LIVING FOR THE OVER 55ʼs COMMUNITY

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy together with Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh OʼBrienand key stakeholders came together to launch The Housing Agency ʻHousing with Supportʼ toolkit and celebrate the ground breaking for the first development under the scheme at Richmond Place, Inchicore Dublin 8.

Housing with Support (HwS) is a new model of housing and care provision in Ireland. It is underpinned by ageappropriate housing and universal design principles including own door living with onsite staff supports (nonmedical), to allow people to live with dignity and independence for as long as possible and to continue to live in their community. Richmond Place is a successful partnership between approved housing body Circle VHA and ALONE, to design, build and deliver the first ʻHousing with Supportʼ scheme in Ireland, as part of the Governmentʼs Demonstrator Project under Housing for All, jointly commissioned by Dublin City Council (who were delighted to transfer the land for Richmond Place to Circle VHA and thank DCC Councillors for approving the transfer), and the HSE.

The ʼHousing with Supportʼ model is intended to set a new standard for the future of housing provision for older people and to act as an exemplar for others to follow. Speaking at the launch Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh OʼBrien said:

“As set out in our Housing for All plan, the Government are working to ensure we have an age friendly Ireland in which older people can live long and healthy lives, participate in their communities and have a range of housing options and health supports to make this possible. I want to commend Circle, ALONE and Dublin City Council who are working on this project with the HSE. This ʻHousing with Supportʼ model is one which Government would like to see replicated nationally, the toolkit launched today will support us to do just that and I look forward to seeing this development progress,” he concluded.

At the ground breaking at Richmond Place today, Circle VHA CEOJohn Hannigan celebrated the kickstart to the first phase of the ʻHousing with Supportʼ demonstrator model, Circleʼs first construction project, which will deliver 52 homes, due for completion in Q2 2024. For the over 55ʼs community, these are lifetime adaptable homes with communal space on the ground floor for socialising, green spaces and comprising of 1 and half bedrooms designed for a family member to stay to support their loved one, ensure adequate storage for aids and appliances to support the person remaining at home or to ensure a person can continue to engage in their leisure and hobby activities. Care support will be provided by Alone in line with the supports provided to the community, but as the carers will be onsite the needs of each individual can be continually assessed and care can be tailored to the needs in a timely manner.

As a prototype with the potential for national rollout, we would like to see and be in a position to deliver more of these projects across Ireland. This development is 100% grant funded by CAS (Capital Assistance Scheme) funding with a contribution from the HSE / Department of Health towards additional communal facilities for the residents. Although the construction of the development is fully funded, there is no form of funding model that is ideally suited to this type of scheme which makes it incredibly challenging to deliver more developments of this type. The current CAS funding model does not allow for specialist communal facilities within the development which are often needed for older people. Further to this, there is a serious challenge with the long-term funding of maintenance for the development as there is no existing mechanism to adequately cover all future costs of these such things. To overcome these gaps in funding, there is a need for a more specific funding model to be designed if there are to be more developments for people over 55 in our communities going forward. We look forward to completing the project with our contractors and partners and to welcoming the tenants into their new homes.”

The ʻHousing with Supportʼ project is a result of work carried out by the Dublin City Age Friendly Housing Working Group (HWG) to design an integrated housing scheme for older people that allows them to remain in their own homes as long as possible. ALONE is pioneering this new model to Ireland which incorporates universal design principles with technology solutions, to provide: • Age-appropriate designed homes in the right location • Independent living – lifetime adaptable homes with own front door. • ʻPerson-centredʼ, ʻflexibleʼ supports through an ʻablementʼ and ʻre-ablementʼ approach. Keeping, gaining and re-gaining the skills and confidence to live independently. • 24/7 staff on site and care support during the day (non-medical) with individual support plans optimising their functional ability, delivering activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) for those who need it. • Community integration – support older people to establish and maintain links in their community, mitigating social isolation placing an emphasis on health and wellbeing. • Support Coordination – coordination of supports and services for older people, such as but not limited to local services, health and medical, financial, social welfare and housing. Sean Moynihan, ALONE CEO says: “One of the core principles of ALONE has always been to protect and support the right of older people to age at home on their terms, with access to any additional supports that they may need to ensure a good quality of life. We are delighted to be breaking ground on this pilot project today. After 7 years of campaigning and work by countless people from so many organisations and arms of the state . Housing with Support is a model for older peopleʼs housing that is more sustainable, suitable and cost effective for those who can no longer live in their own home without extra care than the alternatives. We know that delivery of Housing with Support in Richmond Place is a path finder project and itʼs role is to ensure we gain the knowledge so the model can be copied across the country.”

This also marks the launch of The Housing Agency ʻHousing with Supportʼ toolkit, with an aim to provide a guide for social housing providers interested in developing ʻHousing with Supportʼ projects for older people. The Toolkit outlines the key stages and steps to take when considering a ʻHousing with Supportʼ project from the initial concept, or idea, to the commissioning of an Approved Housing Body to design, planning, funding and construction and will set the benchmark for the future of independent living for the over 55ʼs community in Ireland.

HSE are very happy to be part of this project since itʼs initiation phase and look forward to working closely with the key stakeholders in delivering this multi collaborative approach to supporting older people in their community.