People working in jobs who have day-to-day contact with members of the public are being encouraged to take up courses aimed at changing attitudes towards people experiencing homelessness.
Trust, the homeless support group, yesterday launched a series of training seminars to help people in front-line positions take positive steps to help meet the needs of marginalised people. This includes making services more welcoming and directing people at risk towards sources of help and support.
Such seminars have been hosted for professionals such as social workers, gardaà and prison officers. However, the initiative will now widen to include other groups in contact with members of the public.
The co-founder of Trust, Alice Leahy, who yesterday launched the training programme with the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, welcomed the Library Council as one of the first organisations to take part in the new series of seminars.
"We are seeking to respond to the many people in frontline jobs who are in a position and want to make a difference for the outsider," Ms Leahy said.
"We have been very heartened by the response [from members of the public] and are especially delighted that the first training seminar will be organised for people working in our public libraries, who have already proved highly supportive.
"We are well aware of the wonderful work many frontline personnel are doing in many different areas. However, we are equally well aware that a little sensitivity and a thoughtful intervention at a critical moment by someone in a position to make a difference could, for example, even prevent someone becoming homeless," Ms Leahy said.
The seminars are part of a broader programme, Building Trust in the Community, which was launched earlier this year in association with The Irish Times and sponsored by ESB Electric Aid.
Under this campaign Trust has proposed an advocate system, where homeless people would have a person who would act as a "consumer voice" for vulnerable people.