Need to support TEAM now greater than ever
Mullingar Rotary Club have presented their share of the funds raised through the Remembrance Tree on Dominick Square over Christmas to TEAM, Temporary Emergency Accommodation Midlands.
Tom Daly of Mullingar Rotary said he and colleagues are delighted to donate the funds: “Really, the money that we’re donating to TEAM comes from the local community, and other monies will be distributed over the next few weeks to other deserving charities.”
The Remembrance Tree is a joint fundraiser between Rotary Mullingar and North Westmeath Hospice, and those two groups use the funds generated for the services they provide, and to distribute them to other charities in the area.
Mullingar Rotary Club welcome new members “with new ideas and enthusiasm”, said Tom. Members meet in the Greville Arms Hotel on the second and fourth Mondays of the month (at 6.30pm), and anyone interested in being involved can drop in to find out more.
Tom added: “We rely heavily on the goodwill of the local people. The Rotary Club is a voluntary organisation and we’re only the middlemen – in other words, we pass on the funds to good causes.”
Sr Finbarr Breslin, RIP, founded TEAM to provide support for homeless women and children in the area, and in 2009 the board opened the Teach Fáilte hostel to provide emergency accommodation.
The aim of the service is to provide support for women and their children in every aspect of their lives. Residents are provided with assistance to liaise with the relevant authorities and services. TEAM help them move out of homelessness, through a period in emergency accommodation, on to housing that is appropriate to their needs.
The board hope that the support TEAM offer will help them start new chapters in their lives where they will have a safe place to stay that they can call home.
Teach Fáilte has 11 units for women and children in emergency homeless situations, and more than 700 women and a similar number of children have stayed there in the years since it opened.
The housing crisis and the need for homeless services have increased in recent years, which makes the TEAM services ever more relevant.
A registered charity operating 24/7, TEAM receive some funding from the HSE and Westmeath County Council, but there is an annual deficit in the order of €100,000.
Fundraising has become an intrinsic part of the responsibilities of providing the services and the board members thank all those who have supported them over the years.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner last week (alongside Tom Daly from Mullingar Rotary), Terry McCague and Colm McHugh from TEAM said they and their colleagues “appreciated the kindness and generosity of the local community supporting us in our work”.
“TEAM rely heavily on sponsorship and the support we receive from organisations such as Rotary, for which we are very grateful.”
Referring to the upcoming Mullingar Half Marathon on St Patrick’s Day, which generates significant funding for TEAM each year, Mr McCague and Mr McHugh said that without that generous support, the vital service that TEAM provide would not be possible.
If you would like to support TEAM, there is more information at homelessteam.com.