Crosscare working with people struggling to access supports

Crosscare are set to have a new community café in Jobstown before the end of the year and people may be wondering what they do.

Crosscare works with people at risk of and experiencing homelessness who are struggling to access state and other supports, providing a helping hand for those who need it.

The team will offer their casework services from their new home at St Thomas the Apostle Pastoral Centre, as well as providing a space for people to meet others and create connections.

One such person they have helped in the past is Joseph, a young man who was referred into the service by Citizens Information along with his brother.

Their only parent had a severe medical emergency which resulted in life-changing conditions for the duo – Joseph was in his early 20s at the time and stepped back from college to care for his family.

Budgeting support: Referred by Citizens Information into MABS for support with their HAP and utilities arrears, Crosscare supported Joseph to complete a budget plan and a weekly spending diary, using the banking app Bunq as a visual aid to stay on top of weekly spending.

Joseph decided to reduce weekly takeaways after a discussion on weekly meal planning, smart shopping tips and needs and wants.

Crosscare provided him with a steamer, cookbook and information about ‘Healthy Food Made Easy’, which is run in his local area.

Accommodation support: A meeting was arranged between Joseph sand a solicitor to discuss his rights regarding the HAP tenancy they are under – the parent’s name was on the lease.

DSP support: The service supported Joseph to set up a mygov.ie account, so he can now access mywelfare.ie and offered clarity on what allowances he could avail of.

Social support:  Joseph was referred for supports from his local partnership’s Social Prescriber Link Worker by the Crosscare team.

Health and wellbeing support:  He was connected with a local counselling service and a free legal aid meeting with a solicitor was set up to discuss an upcoming assisted decision-making date.

A My medical card account was created for Joseph and he was provided with information on the independent application he needed to make. A GP was then found who would accept him.

Education: The team at Crosscare are helping Joseph to explore options for a return to education, a process that is ongoing.

Food collection: The brothers collected food support weekly from Crosscare while issues were resolved, reduced to fortnightly then monthly.

Conclusion: Joseph and his brother no longer need food support as their financial issues have been stabilised. They have exited the service having learned new skills, can cook and budget for themselves and know how to navigate services better.

Joseph knows that he can call Crosscare anytime, should the situation change.