REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF YORK HOUSE RESIDENTIAL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF YORK HOUSE RESIDENTIAL CENTRE FOR HOMELESS MEN
Cuireann sé áthas ar mo chroí bheith anseo libh inniu. Go raibh maith agaibh as an chuireadh a thug sibh dom agus as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur romham.
I am delighted to have the very pleasant task of officially opening this newly built York House Residential Centre. I would particularly like to thank Pamela Neil for the kind invitation to join you and my thanks also to Major George Pilkington for his words of welcome. George will shortly be heading off to take up a new appointment in London and I am sure that everyone here joins me in wishing you well for the future.
The Salvation Army has a proud history in Ireland. For over a century its members have extended a Christian hand of help and kindness to the disadvantaged and the marginalized, particularly the homeless. That ministry of care has been offered through times of appalling poverty and times of prosperity and it has been needed no matter what the times. Today Ireland has a good story to tell of widening the embrace of opportunity. It is a story we are entitled to be proud of and to take hope from. But for a significant number of our brothers and sisters homelessness is still their story. They are mere spectators, not participants in Ireland’s success. In a fast moving world, where more and more people seem to be doing better and better, the spectators feel more and more lost, overlooked and hopeless. The Salvation Army addresses that lostness and the hopelessness with the kind of practical outreach that believes in the dignity and potential of each human being.
This new centre is simply a new way of showcasing the Salvation Army’s determination that the homeless will know hope and will experience the kind of sustained support that can help a person move from enduring life to enjoying it. For more than 50 years now, York House in its former home of York Street has been providing accommodation for homeless men. The 21st century York House has the best of modern, purpose built facilities. Its first class accommodation, with comfortable and secure single rooms sends out a very powerful message to the homeless and to the community. The homeless can see at a glance how important their comfort and well-being is. The community can see voluntary social responsibility at work in partnership with the State, together settling only for the best and putting the easily forgotten at the top of the agenda.
With many generations of experience in this work, the Salvation Army knows that having a decent roof over your head is only the beginning of a new life for the homeless. The comprehensive BRIDGE programme which it proposes to implement in this new facility will support residents medical needs, personal development, addiction recovery as well as training support. In that way York House becomes part of a journey towards independent living rather than a final destination.
The work of the Salvation Army is not done for thanks but it deserves a shower of praise and gratitude for its generous commitment to one of Ireland’s most vulnerable and tragic groups. Here individuals are helped to grow strong, to believe in themselves again, to find joy in life, to make the very best of their days. Every person helped to grow strong and self-confident makes our society stronger, more resilient. I congratulate the residents on their determination to make their stay in York House a time of change and a time of hope in their lives. I wish everyone, staff, residents, supporters, funders of York House every success for the future. To those who built it, well done. This is a day to be proud of and I hope that York House will have many more days of pride and happy memories.
Go raibh maith agaibh.