NOVAS new street outreach van campaign continues amid rising homelessness

NOVAS new street outreach van campaign continues amid rising homelessness. Deirdre & Aising Street Outreach volunteers

NOVAS is inviting the public, businesses and wider community to support their campaign to help fund a new Street Outreach Van

NOVAS is inviting the public, businesses and wider community to support their campaign to help fund a new Street Outreach Van, with donations accepted on the charity website.

Operating 365 days a year in Limerick City, this frontline service offers immediate and practical support to people who are rough sleeping, living in squats, homeless, or struggling to make ends meet in their own rented accommodation.  

The Street Outreach Van provides what is often the client’s only hot meal of their day. It also provides, drinks, toiletries and other essential items, as well as essential human contact. There has been a significant increase in demand as homelessness and poverty continue to rise.

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Last year, people in need in Limerick City received 32,000 hot meals. However, after years of daily use, the van has become unreliable and is no longer fit-for-purpose. NOVAS conducted a piece of research earlier this year with Jack Matthew Copley, Masters of Sociology student, University of Limerick which highlights the severity of the situation. It showed that, of the surveyed clients, over 80% visit the van every day or several times a week. Furthermore, 60% of the clients who use the Street Outreach Van are sleeping rough. These stark statistics underlines the urgent need to sustain and expand the service.

Street Outreach Volunteer Deirdre says, “As a volunteer, I see the importance of the service to people’s lives, often we give them their only meal of the day, and it can be the only time they speak to someone.”  

Run by a dedicated team of volunteers and supported by NOVAS staff, the Street Outreach Service provides not only practical assistance but also connection, compassion, and consistency for people who may otherwise feel excluded or forgotten. For many, this service is a critical lifeline that helps them meet their most basic needs while navigating the challenges of homelessness and food insecurity.

NOVAS is very grateful to everyone who has supported this campaign to date, and to everyone who attended the recent quiz. To date almost half the target has been raised.