We are often asked: what can I do? This initiative is part of our effort to answer that question and we have produced a special DVD also called Building Trust in the Community as a starting point.

We also encourage you to use the other resources that can be accessed on this site especially the paper Thirty Years Working On The Outside.

Those we meet in TRUST everyday, who are homeless on the street, are in a real sense outsiders. To make a difference for them we must first begin by treating them as people, with dignity and respect. Our message is very simple: we must care for people as people.

[Picture shows Alice presenting Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD with a copy of the TRUST DVD launched as part of the TRUST National Project – Building Trust in the Community.]

We recognise that it only takes one person to make a decision to help others to start changing things for the better. The more people that become involved the more rapidly our community will become a place where everyone will feel wanted.

So we recommend you get the DVD of which we are making 1,000 available free to any group that requests it if the members agree to show and discuss it at a meeting and let us have some feedback. When any group finishes with the DVD we are asking them to pass it on to another group and ask them to contact us as well with their reaction. We want to create a kind of information chain reaction so that we can get as many people as possible to think about the way our very prosperous society treats its outsiders and what we can do to make them feel wanted.

When we use the word “group” we mean any community group, parent’s group, adult education group, women’s group, branches of trade unions, Rotary, Chambers of Commerce, religious communities, etc. In short, any interested group that undertakes to simply host a viewing and begin to ask how can we, in our own communities, and in our own way make a difference for the outsider.

We are also making the DVD available to individuals for €10, which includes all postage and handling charges, and can be obtained by sending a cheque to TRUST, Bride Road, Dublin 8. However, if you decide to buy it we do hope you will also share it with your family, friends and any group you are a member. We did not produce this DVD as a fund raising initiative but to help those who want to make life better for others by giving them some ideas about where they might start.

Your feedback is important. Please let us know what you think. New ideas and insights are very welcome, especially information about the valuable work and those doing it in your community on behalf of those who have no voice. We want to help mobilise and motivate each other by sharing information to provide more encouragement and support to those already making a difference and anyone interested in joining them.

Many thanks for your interest and support.

The DVD is also available in your local Public Library. Find details here.