Alice Leahy Trust Letters to the Sunday Times, News and Press

The Showers Must Go On

Further to your report on plants to redevelop the public toilet block at Trinity College Dublin (“Beware the bar stools”, News, last week), we presented a detailed proposal for public showers to Dublin city council in 2006. This was an extremely cost-effective option at the time which could help prevent people in temporary difficulties falling into homelessness. The potential savings to the taxpayer could also be significant as they could, in the long term, become self-sustaining. Public showers, if run professionally, would also have a much wider appeal, such as for tourists. Five years on, we are more than ever convinced of the need for such a service.

Alice Leahy, Director and Co-Founder, Trust, Dublin 8

Alice Leahy Trust Letters to the Sunday Independent, News and Press

In praise of independence

Sir — On the morning after I read John O’Brien’s wonderful article on rural isolation I had a visit from a garda enquiring about a man who had died, trying to track his movements in the last month of his life. Less than an hour later I was contacted by a woman living in rural Ireland whose brother had contact with Trust over the years. She was awaiting the release of her brother’s body for burial after being found dead in his city centre flat, where he had lain dead for about a month — too long to be identified without access to his dental records.

The article should be compulsory reading, not just for people interested in the GAA.

Some people working in the area of health and social services are aware no doubt of cases like this, some stressing the importance of independence if even living in “a world that has stood still for generations”.

“Experts” who plan services are too often removed from the reality of people’s lives, their time spent juggling statistics around to measure performance and outcomes without due regard to the resilience, wonder and complexities of the human condition.

The picture accompanying the article might be shocking, but it captures the contentment of Mick who some day yet may celebrate in Croke Park.

Alice Leahy,

Director & Co-founder, Trust,

Bride Road, Dublin 8

Alice Leahy Trust Letters to the Irish Times, News and Press

Use of drugs in mental health

Madam, – “The therapeutic misuse of benzodiazepines in medicine generally is a problem” states Dr Dermot Walsh, former inspector of mental hospitals, (Home News, January 4th). This misuse is now surely widespread in a country crying out for care, compassion and hope.Thanks to Carl O’Brien for once again highlighting an issue of grave concern.

At the launch of Vision for Change I stated it was unlikely to make any difference, based on my experience of working in the field of health and homelessness over a long period. I had witnessed the closure of some hospital premises, with patients discharged to live in facilities much cheaper to run, hostels with no rehabilitation facilities and no appropriately trained staff, where they ended up living in an equally institutionalised setting in which medication continued to be the main element of care. Or they were released to struggling communities with no community support services in place.

If we are serious about ensuring the rights of people with mental health problems are acknowledged and the ever-declining numbers of dedicated staff are not to become more disillusioned and demoralised, action is required.

Change takes time, but why this long? No more reports are required to highlight the inadequacies in our health service.

Our most important asset is our people and history will judge us to have failed our most vulnerable fellow human beings if this situation is allowed to continue.

A new year, a new government, a new set of problems to be addressed should not deflect us from a problem needing urgent attention, highlighted once again in The Irish Times.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts that everyone is entitled to dignity and respect – something we should not forget in these challenging times for all. – Yours, etc,

ALICE LEAHY,

Director Co-Founder,

Trust,

Bride Road,

Dublin 8.