HAIL participated during 2011 in a Genio funded Disability Federation of Ireland/Neurological Association of Ireland project with 6 other organisations. The aim of the project was to enhance the capacity of people with physical, sensory, neurological and mental health disabilities and their representative organisations to advocate for access to general community services and facilities.
The funding which allowed this project to take place was made possible through Genio’s commitment to working in the disability and mental health sector, supported by Atlantic Philanthropies and in collaboration with the Office for Disability and Mental Health, the HSE and non-governmental advocacy and service-providing organisations.
The policy context for this piece of work came from the thrust within the disability sector towards mainstreaming and the vision of “an Ireland where people with disabilities have, to the greatest extent possible, the opportunity to live a full life with their families and as part of their local community, free from discrimination”
(Towards 2016, 2006: 66)
HAIL believes that secure housing is an essential platform for recovery and in this project focused on deep listening to its tenants, with the intention of discovering the undocumented story of the complex issues encountered in meeting the housing needs of the person with mental ill health. This was done through a review of housing applications for a particular new development, developing composite case studies, a focus group with current tenants, and later, with referring agencies. HAIL learned valuable lessons from its tenants in the project and will incorporate the learning into its new strategic planning process. The full report on HAIL’s part in the project is available here
Links
GENIO: http://www.genio.ie/genio-trustDFI: http://www.disability-federation.ie
