Dove House services for low income in Derry

Struggling residents of the Derry area and surrounding region in Northern Ireland can turn to Dove House Advice Services. The organisation has several staff members that work to support families on a low income, and information is available to a wide range of programmes that can help them during a hardship.

A drop in centre is run by the service, and it is available five days per week. People can stop in anytime and see what type of support is available to them, but a few aims of the not-for-profit are on addressing housing and debt problems. All of this will hopefully reduce poverty as well as hunger in the Belfast as well as Derry area.

Dove House Advice Services assistance for reducing poverty and homelessness comes in many forms. The main forms of assistance are provided below.

Staff will work on helping people access welfare, whether it is a local housing allowance (LHA) or applying to schemes for rent deposits. The agency will also offer ongoing tenancy support in an effort to help those threatened with homelessness. So if the tenant is in debt or rent arrears, they will try to find solutions to keep the person off the streets.

The vulnerable can get assistance in Derry, whether they are disabled or elderly, are other customers of Dove House. The staff will assess what their challenge is. Based on the results of that, there can be basic needs and referrals available. They will offer this to food banks or staff that help the client access schemes ranging from welfare to deposits, as noted above.

Outreach tales place for the vulnerable who can’t visit an office on their own. The advisor from the not-for-profit will visit them in their home in Derry, or where needed, and provide them the information they need. Whether it is completing a form for benefits or locating private sector housing, advice is available from the Dove House.

Additional advice is available. The team will meet with lone parents to give them information on government schemes. Carers advice is always in high demand, and the Dove House will try to meet this need as well.

Help for youth abusing substances is available as part of Divert. This has several main components of it, and it is for people under the age of 26. The programme is available in Northern Ireland including Derry, Strabane as well as Limavady.

Clients can enroll into education so they can learn about the danger of abusing substances. Staff from Dove House will provide alternatives that address lifestyle changes. This can include resettling into a new home to separate them from the past, and also accessing employment and counselling. This then leads to Life Changers Programme, which is a goal based service for abusers.

The aim of the services is to help the low income gain independence. Whether the individual is homeless or abusing substances, the Dove House is an agency that will assist as they can. While staffing can change, almost 10 full time employees are available at the Dove House Community Trust. The address is 32 Meenan Square, Derry, BT48 9EX, and the phone number is 028 7126 9327.