The Associated Charities Trust is a locally based association borne out of Limerick City’s social and housing difficulties during the economic and social difficulties of the decade of the 1980’s. People experiencing homelessness usually have a range of needs which cannot be met by one service alone. The association works with the region’s statutory and voluntary housing bodies to deliver an integrated homeless service. Since its inception the association has worked at the coalface of homelessness and is to the forefront in identifying needs and developing responses to them. The housing association and its staff has over two decades of first hand experience in addressing support needs and providing accomodation services to homeless people.

The association was founded in 1990 to provide housing and support services for homeless people in the region. In 1993 Thomond House was purchased and refurbished with the aid of a capital assistance grant from the Dept. of the Environment.

The Thomond House Women’s Emergency Shelter opened in 1994. The service has operated at full capacity in the intervening years. On average 80-100 homeless women avail of Thomond Houses’Emergency Accomodation Service annually.

The association has also developed a Transitional Housing Programme for homeless women, men and families. This service offers homeless people with severe coping difficulties a “ Stability Pathway Term Programme” to enable and empower them to stabilise their respective situations. A Longterm Supported Housing project for older women with coping difficulties was developed at Altamira Apartment Complex.

In the face of the housing shortage and the lack of appropriate housing capacity for homeless people the association is strategically working to develop the Mirth Permanent Supported Housing Scheme. This will consist of 18 one bedroom apartments on a site adjacent to Thomond House Homeless Hostel. Planning is secured and The organisation is in discussions with the local authority and the Department of the Environment on the financing and development of the project. The J.P. Mc Manus Fund have generously offered to support the project. This project has planning and is now ready to build with generous philanthropic funding support from the J.P. Mc Manus fund. The final part of the jigsaw is the evaluation and processing of Department of the Environment approval of grant aid. The organisation is making a huge effort to develop the Mirth Housing Project because it believes the national policy in place of “A housing led strategy to assist homeless people” can only be delivered if we provide and build adequate housing capacity appropriate to peoples needs.

ACT Thomond House is a company limited by guarantee (C.L.G.) with approved charity status. The organisation is an approved voluntary housing body with the Department of the Environment. It is a member of Limerick Homeless Alliance, Limerick Homeless Partnership, the Mid-West Regional Housing Forum and the Irish Council for Social Housing. The Associated Charities Trust C.L.G. is registered with the Charity Regulatory Authority no. 20021443.