What is it?
Thurles Lions Trust Housing Association Limited is a special purpose Company formed by Thurles Lions Club to develop and operate a social housing trust for the Thurles area. It is a Registered Charity, approved by the Revenue Commissioners.
Lions Clubs International of which Thurles Lions Club forms a small part, are a service organisation comprising some 1.5 million Members in 53,000 Clubs worldwide who undertake various projects of a charitable, social, educational and cultural nature. The Members are drawn from all walks of life and give of their services and time to their Communities on a voluntary basis. It is non-political and non-religious.
Thurles Lions Club was formed in 1964, now has some 50 members and in its history to date has taken a number of initiatives in the health infrastructure area of the Community. These have consisted of the provision some years ago of a kitchen and administrative facility for the “Meals on Wheels” operation in the Town and more recently the provision of the €50,000 local contribution required by Central Government in order to establish a Day Care Centre for the Elderly.
What Is Its Purpose?
The provision of a supported housing campus for adults who may presently be institutionalised or otherwise unable to care for themselves alone, including the provision of a low to medium level of support so that in he long-term, these people can be re-introduced to the community, with appropriate social and self-help skills to enable them survive and grow.
On 24th Nov 2007 , a purpose-built housing complex conceived and promoted by Thurles Lions Club was handed over to the Club by the Building Contractor. The facility is located at Gortataggart, on the Templemore Road, in Thurles. This follows a development period of 6 years and the expenditure of some 2 million Euro . The funding has been drawn from the Government Grant aid programme for Voluntary Housing and from local fundraising by Thurles Lions Club. The local Club gratefully acknowledges the support of the people of Thurles for this project.
The design strives to minimise an institutional feel and to provide, in a holistic way, a living environment that is modern, bright, airy and gives onto pleasant gardens from each bedroom with appropriate communal areas for quiet reflection and\or social interaction. The current design comprises a total of 14 self contained Units of accommodation, with Common Areas such as dining room, kitchen ( to be used in part for training in culinary self- sufficiency), TV/ games / social interaction space including a communal area for computer use /training.
