Project Worker

Siul Le simply means to walk with. The Good Shepherd Centre Clg are proposing a Pilot project in partnership with The Collective Sensory Group, supported by the HSE Disability Services. To initially operate for 12 months. The Siul Le Project.

It is the partners experience that there is a cohort of service users in homeless services and/or housed with a disability or undefined life challenges who struggle to exit homeless services and/or settle and sustain long term housing and life opportunities. They are in fact a group susceptible to long-term homelessness and its recurring vulnerabilities with high-risk behaviours. In the main they are distant and estranged from services. The ability to assess and use this information from a multi-disciplinary perspective with the service user and to access services is a priority.

For many of that cohort accessing homeless services this is due to family breakdown, experiences of violence and other vulnerabilities.

In the south east the private rented sector has become unaffordable for social housing applicants. Housing supply is low, and the Housing Assistance Scheme (HAP) has a growing unpopularity among landlords. Individuals with sensory and development difficulties or with a disability in general can find this an impossible space to navigate to successful outcomes.

The Local Authority Housing Disability Strategy for People with Disabilities continues to seek to prioritise access to supports and quality housing for service users with mild to severe disabilities. The Good Shepherd Centre and HSE will seek to agree targets with each of the local authority steering groups for access to Siul Le Service and likewise access to emergency and suitable long-term accommodation.

The client group present with mild Intellectual disability, Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, Dyslexia and a range of poor coping skills.

Many have experienced family breakdown and/or struggle to access and/or sustain accommodation. They are vulnerable. Some have a history of addiction and high risk behaviours such as self-neglect and/or self-harm