Section 1: Vision Statement of Thurles Lions Trust Housing Association CLG

To improve and promote the rights and aspirations of people who are at risk of homelessness, have intellectual, mental or physical disabilities and others in need, in the greater Thurles and wider County Tipperary areas, by providing and maintaining socially inclusive high-quality housing accommodation and associated support services, in a safe and secure environment.

Section 2: Board of Directors 2018

The members of the Board of Thurles Lions Trust Housing Association CLG for 2018 were –

Eamonn Medley (Chairman),    John Medley,

Anne Bolton,    Rita Dempsey,    Pat Strapp,

Brendan Sheahan,

Martin Taylor (Secretary),    Joe Tynan,

Donal Scannell.

Board Meetings and Committees

A total of 6 Board meetings were held during 2018. In addition, the following sub-committees of the Board were active during the year

Nominations Committee

Finance and Risk Committee

Admissions and Medical Committee

Maintenance and Operations Committee

Members of Staff and their Roles for 2018

The following is a list of the staff positions of Thurles Lions Trust Housing Association CLG and their roles during 2018

Main Highlights for 2018

There were a number of highlights during the year. The most significant of these were

Tenancies: Successful management of all tenancies during the year

Stanwix Village: Advancement of the planning application and design of the proposed 19 units through the various stages of design and approval.

19 Ikerrin Court: Completion of refurbishment and fit out works on property.

Monastery Close: CAS grant approval for the acquisition of 34 units at Monastery Close received

Supported Tenancy in privately owned unit: Successful negotiation of arrangement with a private property owner of a property in Abbey Road which was provided as “move-on” accommodation for a resident of MBH with outreach support provided by the staff of Matthew Bourke House.

Night Caretakers/Porters: Appointment of 2 night caretakers/porters to provide night security at MBH.

Section 10 Funding: A further comprehensive application for the provision of funding to support the employment of night caretaker staff in Matthew Bourke House on a permanent basis was submitted to the County Council.

Rent Payments: the payment of rent was again managed very successfully to the point that there were limited or no rent arrears at the end of the year

Food Cloud: Matthew Bourke House avails of the food cloud service from local supermarkets. This is proving very beneficial for many of the residents.

FAS and TUS Schemes: we continue to benefit from the availability of both social employment schemes to us. Much of our standard maintenance works are undertaken by these schemes with obvious financial benefits reflected in the low figure for maintenance in our annual accounts.

Housing Developments The Stanwix Village

Notification of Decision to Grant Planning Permission was received in December for the provision of 19 units of accommodation as follows

• 9 refurbished apartments in the existing Stanwix chalets
• 5 new own door apartments
• A community home for 4 adults and 1 carer
• A communal facility which will be utilised to support the residents and will also have wider community use

The approval of the Charities Regulator on the transfer of ownership of the property from The Stanwix Trust to TLTHA was received and the formal acquisition of the property was finalised.

CAS 2014 – Alternative purchase of 6 properties

Approval to proceed with the refurbishment works to the properties at 1a Croke Street (Baldwins) and 19 Ikerrin Court was received. Both properties were purchased by us in 2015/16. The successful contractor was appointed and works on 19 Ikerrin Court were completed by the end of the year.

Monastery Close

TLTHA received CAS approval for the proposed acquisition of Monastery Close in September. The proposal to acquire the development, consisting of 34 units in total, through a combination of CAS grant, private borrowings and own resources for a total of €3 million would deliver a total of 26 social and 8 private units. Following CAS approval, the acquisition of the development was advanced but was not finalised by year end.

4 Ayrhill Court, Roscrea – Roscrea Lions Club

The acquisition of a three bedroomed property in Roscrea was advanced during the year and CAS grant approval was received. Roscrea Lions Club will manage the property under the “umbrella” of TLTHA as the Approved Housing Body.

Matthew Bourke House (MBH)

The manager and staff of MBH continue to work in full compliance with health and safety policies, procedures and relevant legislation always maintaining a safe and secure environment for the residents of the house. The staff maintain a very effective working relationship with the Homeless Unit in Nenagh through who the majority of referrals for accommodation in MBH now come. Matthew Bourke House accommodates persons referred to it by the Homeless Action Team and/or Mental Health Services on a short term or emergency basis.

Service Indicators 2018

Occupancy: 100% Number of referrals: 12

• Mental Health Services: 1
• Self-referral: 1
• Disabilities services: 4
• Homeless Action Team: 6

New tenancies 2018: 4

• 3 of the new tenants were referred from the Homeless Action Team
• 1 was referred from mental

Discharges: 2 – both to nursing care. Deaths in services: Nil

The Residents of MBH have benefited greatly since the introduction of a waking night shift in February. Residents now feel more secure and comfortable knowing there is a member of staff on duty at all times. Since this introduction there has been no unlawful entries or any anti-social activities, which has really put minds at ease especially some of our more vulnerable residents. Resident checks and medication prompting has greatly reduced the amount of self-harming and medication errors.