Housing Network Reclaim Housing for the Homeless

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Bolt Hostel, at 38/39 Bolton St, that has been vacant for 3 years. The Irish Housing Network have reclaimed the building to house the homeless. AISLING HEDDERMAN tells John Healy what’s going onm in Bolton Street as it happens.
“We entered the building a few weeks ago. It was in very good condition, considering it’s been empty for three years. We knew with a bit of work it could be really nice.”
Plumbers and electricians have been in, on a voluntary basis, to ensure wiring is safe, to fix a leaking pipe and make sure taps and toilets are working.
There are six bedrooms over three floors, three bathrooms, a kitchen and a number of living areas. There is more communal space in an adjacent building, which was also part of the original Bolton House.
The stairs are carpeted and the rooms are clean, albeit in need of redecoration. Rooms are sparsely furnished but new curtains and bed linen have been donated.
The “liberation” of the building – renamed the Bolt Hostel – has been publicised on social media and the group had stalls on the street last weekend to tell the local community what they were doing.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.