On 15 September 2014 President Michael D. Higgins opened the Cuan Mhuire Lumen Initiative and the newly refurbished Teach Mhuire, located in Dublin’s Gardiner Street, which provides short-term accommodation for 55 homeless men who have completed a drug, alcohol, or gambling programme and who are in early recovery.
The Lumen Initiative offers residents of Teach Mhuire treatments such as group therapy, one-to-one counselling, assessment and referral, family support and relapse prevention groups.
President Higgins spoke about the work of Cuan Mhuire, the importance of their work, and about homelessness. He noted that ‘lumen’ is the Latin word for light and that he hoped that the project would shine some light in to the lives of those who were most vulnerable. He spoke of the complexity surrounding homelessness, and how it is often linked to many other challenges and difficulties:
They are people who know, from lived experience, that without a home, an address, citizens are also deprived in many ways of a voice in society; of the right to participate, to seek and obtain employment, to offer their skills and talents to their communities and their wider society. They are denied a sense of place, of home, of neighbourhood, and of shared solidarity and responsibility, which is critical to our living together.1
President Higgins also spoke about addiction and the damage that it has done to both individuals and families in Ireland. In conclusion, he unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion.
Sr Consilio, who founded Cuan Mhuire in 1966, thanked President Higgins for attending and acknowledged his long-standing friendship and support for the project. She spoke about the importance of valuing everyone equally and trying to ensure that those who are homeless are treated fairly. She acknowledged all the help and support that has been received over the years, without which Cuan Mhuire would not be able to exist.
The opening was attended by many supporters of Cuan Mhuire: the Lord Mayor, members of the Oireachtas and local councillors, current and past staff members, representatives of other agencies working in the area of homelessness and addiction, and donors, including staff of State Street Bank who had supported the refurbishment of Teach Mhuire.
1 http://www.president.ie/speeches/speech-at-the-official-opening-of-the-cuan-mhuire-lumen-initiative-gardiner-street-dublin/
