SPEECH BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO THE SALVATION ARMY’S SOCIAL SERVICES
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO THE SALVATION ARMY’S SOCIAL SERVICES CENTRE CENTENARY HOUSE
I was delighted to accept George Pilkington’s invitation to meet with you and to see first hand the caring work of the Salvation Army’s Social Services Centre here in my native city.
It is a sad reality that the problem of homelessness has followed us into this new century and millennium. For many people all the hype and hope that the new millennium seemed to offer didn’t lift their hearts, it simply made their own grim circumstances appear all the more desperate. This is not a problem which is ebbing. We wish that it was but the truth is that the problem has grown and so too has the pressure on services provided by both statutory and voluntary agencies including your own.
Homelessness happens for many different reasons and in many different circumstances. I have had some personal experience of what it is to be homeless, to lose the centre of gravity, the anchor, the shelter, the rootedness, the identity and belonging, that a home represents - to have nothing to write on the address section of a form, to fall outside all the loops that a home quietly and subtly keeps you in. Because I have been there I also know how vital it is that there are helping hands and that they are accessible - that they are effective. To be homeless is to be in freefall, to not know where the end of anything is and to be unsure if there can be a beginning to hope. I remember the fear that the fragments of our lives would never be put back together again and I remember how much my family relied on the compassion and generosity of others. That is why the work you do is so essential.
The Salvation Army has a century long, proud history on this island, upholding and sustaining a tradition of Christian outreach, a kindly helping hand to those in bad or poor circumstances and in particular, to the homeless.
Here at Centenary House, the high standard of care provided for the residents is impressive and reassuring. It’s a very sizeable operation with accommodation for up to 118 homeless men, who need more than a roof and bed. They need all those things which a good and happy home provides, a welcome, warmth, a bit of comfort, friendship, support and care. This centre goes further still, offering a valuable web of services which cater for health, educational, resettlement and support needs. It can be difficult work, frustrating and fraught and yet when I visit places like this and other centres such as the Salvation Army’s Cedar House Night Shelter in Dublin, what transcends all of that is the energy, commitment and dedication of the volunteers and staff whose fulfilment is in giving their hearts and hands to this crucial work. You deserve all our thanks for what you do. This city and this society is a better place because of it. Lives move beyond mere existence because of it and some lives are turned around because of it.
The work of the Salvation Army now reaches 108 countries throughout the world. In each place it wraps itself around the toughest local problems. Residential homes for people with alcohol and drug problems, rehabilitation centres, shelters for street children, maternity homes, rescue and anti-suicide teams, programmes for those with hearing and speech difficulties, outreach services, counselling services and prison visits. Here your partnership with the Probation Board is evidence of the high level of trust your professionalism has generated just as the public response to your work tells of an organisation that is much loved and respected.
I congratulate you for all that is done here and for the spirit of loving care which lies at the heart of it. To those who work here or who support the work, I wish continued fulfilment and energy. To those who use this place, I hope you find here the doorway to control over your own lives, a place where you matter most, where people care deeply about your life enough to reach out to you and bid you welcome. Thank you for the warm welcome given to me today and I wish you all well for the future.