A personal address and mail collection service for people who are homeless or living in temporary accommodation is available in Waterford.
The free An Post service is being provided in Poleberry, Barrack Street and Custom House Quay in Waterford City & the High Street, Dungarvan
Address Point is available to people who are homeless or living in temporary emergency accommodation through charities working in the area of homelessness and the housing department of local authorities.
An Post is providing all the charities, service providers and local authorities with information leaflets about Address Point to assist them in advising their clients about accessing the service. These groups include Focus Ireland and St. Vincent de Paul.
In conjunction with services providers and charities working in the area of homelessness, an instant address is generated online using a mobile phone or laptop, for use on all correspondence, and then mail is collected on production of photo ID at the post office of choice. Should a person move to a new locality, a new address can be immediately generated, linked to a post office in the new location.
Debbie Byrne, Managing Director of An Post Retail explained that An Post set out to devise a solution that respected people's privacy, and helped to make their lives a little easier:
"We are keenly aware of the difficulties which can result from people not having a reliable, secure mailing address or letter collection point to access vital services we all take for granted and in looking for a job.
"The input and support of both service users, service providers, An Post staff and postmasters was invaluable in bringing Address Point from a good idea to an easily accessible service based around a choice of almost 200 local post offices country-wide.
"As a major Irish company with world-class expertise and a deeply-connected, community-conscious body of staff, our purpose is to be a force for good, wherever we can. We have the expertise and the national reach to make a real difference."
Francis Doherty, Head of Communications at Peter McVerry Trust welcomed the new Address Point service saying "this is a personal and practical service that will make a real difference to people's lives. From medical appointments to service applications or keeping in touch with family, having a secure address may seem like a small thing, but it brings huge benefits to people who are homeless and to others living in temporary accommodation".
