Take ‘One First Step’

Ana Liffey, a charity working on the frontlines in marginalised communities, has launched a new appeal urging those facing the downward spiral of social harms to reach out and take ‘One First Step’ towards support.

The low-threshold, harm reduction charity, which has centres in Dublin, the Mid-West and the North-East of Ireland, has launched a new freephone number and is urging those in need to reach out.

The charity has broadened its reach over the decades expanding its capacity to support those in addiction and now also supporting people experiencing gender-based violence and homelessness, as well as other social harms.

Clonmel native Dawn Russell, CEO of Ana Liffey says “As the harms to marginalised people in our society have expanded and diversified, we have worked hard to adapt our services so that we can help people experiencing a variety of social harms. We started out as a charity working with those in addiction in the North Inner City, we now have teams working in many communities in Ireland supporting people with their mental health, relationships and homelessness, as well as addiction and other issues.”

Ms Russell, who has worked with the charity since graduating as a social care worker almost 20 years ago, says the charity is striving to create a compassionate Ireland by providing a safe space for people enduring social harms in our communities.

“We want to help those vulnerable members of our society access services that can help them improve and rebuild their lives. Social harms can cover quite a lot and our work has evolved over the years, and will continue to evolve as needed,” she says.

Ana Liffey was established in 1982 as an addiction service that pioneered the "low threshold – harm reduction" model in Ireland. It now delivers evidence-based harm reduction services through a multi-disciplinary team model, with nurses, counsellors and case managers working together via an outreach model to reach those most in need.

TIPPERARY OPERATION

Working closely with other State agencies and services, the charity operates in five centres in Dublin, across the Mid-West region - covering Limerick, Clare, Tipperary - and the North East, through its new Louth service.

Services provided include addiction services, housing assistance, support in attending medical appointments, gender-specific health and counselling services and mental health supports.

Ana Liffey also runs the Law Engagement and Assisted Recovery (LEAR) programmes in Limerick and Dublin cities, in partnership with An Garda Síochána.

LEAR provides intensive, person-centred case management to people with complex needs related to addiction, criminality, homelessness and mental health.

To ensure its services are as accessible as possible, Ana Liffey launched its ‘VanaLiffey’ services in 2021. These mobile harm reduction units support the charity’s outreach work linking people to treatment and support services.