'High hopes' for new social media support group in Longford

Mullingar man Stephen Nugent who is now living in Co Longford is the brains behind the new initiative which has already attracted over 600 members on its Facebook page ‘Let’s do our bit for the homeless’.

Mr Nugent says that those he has been in contact with since the Facebook initiative was established are “keen and interested” to become involved.

“We are obviously delighted to see so many people coming on board already,” he told the Leader on Monday.
“I have a big vision for this and have already had discussions in relation to the homeless crisis here with the Simon Community.”

While the homeless crisis continues to increase nationally, locally the situation is not as severe, so Mr Nugent says his group will also be in a position to tackle other issues within the community, like fuel poverty among the elderly or assisting struggling parents with school books and uniforms.

“We will also be focusing on the community - looking at people who maybe need school uniforms and books or focusing on elderly people struggling to buy fuel to keep themselves warm,” Stephen continued, before pointing out that another social media support group - ‘Labor of Love Mullingar’ - has also joined forces with his initiative.

“I appreciate we are a small outfit at the moment but to be honest I wasn't’ expecting such interest when I set out with my plans.

“Our aim is to help the community by focusing on the community.”

Meanwhile, he added, “I’ve always wanted to help people and I have a heavy heart for people’s struggles - that is why I have high hopes for my group”. See www.facebook.com/groups/245516352977985 for more details.  

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