COPE Galway is a local Galway organisation whose vision is an “Improved Quality of Life in a Home of your Own” for people affected by homelessness, women and children experiencing domestic abuse, and older people.
In 2019, COPE Galway worked with 2,984 vulnerable people in Galway. This is a 20 per cent increase on the numbers supported the year before. The 2019 numbers include:
1,189 adults and 433 children affected by homelessness in Galway, (187 families, 868 single people, 18 couples ).
638 individual women and their children who were experiencing domestic abuse
724 older people availing of social and nutritional supports
COPE Galway also produced and delivered 61,016 meals to older people, others needing specialised nutritional support and to clients residing at their services around Galway.
The organisation supported 2,938 individuals with food from the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived (FEAD ) Programme and distributed over 700 school kits.
More than 200 volunteers worked over 20,000 volunteering hours in over 25 volunteer roles. 31% of COPE Galway weekly volunteers are over 65.
COPE Galway works on behalf of the Galway Community to meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens. Their 2019 Annual Report shines a light on the impact of the work COPE Galway does across its three services and gives a platform to the stories of the real experiences of the men, women and children who rely on their services.
HOMELESS SERVICE
COPE Galway’s Homeless Service saw the biggest increase in demand, given the continuing housing crisis, with 1,622 men, women and children seeking support from COPE Galway’s emergency accommodation facilities, day centre, family, resettlement and homeless prevention services.
A shortage of housing continued to define much of our work in the last year. As such, there has been an emphasis on acquisition of housing. We have worked with Galway City Council to establish a Family Hub, which opened in May 2019 and can house up to ten families at a time; and to acquire housing options for the increasing number of single people who need our support. Despite the best efforts of both COPE Galway and the Local Authorities, we have yet to see an end to families and single people living long term in hotels and bed & breakfasts. Therefore, our work to effect policy change and drive forward a ”fit for purpose” housing model for Galway remains vital and continues to be a priority in the coming year.
However, the COVID-19 crisis has shown that it is possible to do things differently. With many stakeholders working together, we have achieved outcomes that seemed impossible before the pandemic. For example, in Galway, we now have a 24-hour facility in place, which means no one needs to sleep on the streets. The recent changes in our tourist market means there may now be opportunities to acquire long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness, something which has eluded us for years.
DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICE
COPE Galway’s domestic abuse service expanded significantly in 2019, with the development of our new facility at Modh Eile House and funding from TUSLA to extend the delivery of outreach services across Galway city and county
In particular, COPE Galway expanded supports for children and sought to ensure that every child that is exposed to an abusive environment gets the specialised therapeutic support they need and deserve. This expanded children’s service has been made possible with the support from a private donor, for which we are extremely grateful.
The housing crisis also impacts heavily on our domestic abuse service, with many women and children facing a lack of options for independent living after availing of our support. The move to our new domestic abuse facility, Modh Eile House, (in May 2020 ) with its increased capacity and associated broader range of supports, has therefore been a welcome development.
The importance of our domestic abuse service, for Galway City and County cannot be overstated, with 638 women (and related children ) receiving support in 2019 alone. We also support women and their children from the wider western region, including Mayo and Roscommon.
SENIOR SUPPORT SERVICE
In 2019, COPE Galway’s Senior Support Service continued to offer essential supports to the older members of our community through our meals on wheels service and Meals4Health social enterprise, our lunch and social clubs, our Helping Hands volunteer programme, our day centre and our community support programme.
These services allow hundreds of people across our community to continue to live independently and contribute to making Galway a great place in which to grow older.
There is a consensus among older people in our community that they wish to be able to live independently and healthily in their own homes for as long as possible. COPE Galway contributed to making this possible for over 700 people in 2019 by providing vital nutritional, social, and practical supports through their senior support services.
