Health & Recovery
NOVAS provide a range of health and recovery services for people who experience homelessness and for those living independently who require community detox, grief counselling and respite support.
Services and Model of Care
NOVAS health and recovery services are delivered through the lens of trauma informed practice. Services are low-threhold, high-tolerance and implement harm reduction techniques. They serve people who are socially isolated, experiencing disenfranchised grief and those who find it difficult to engage in mainstream services.
NOVAS provides a range of services to meet the varying needs of our clients and their families. These servics include:
- A Respite House for the loved ones of people in addiction
- A Mid-West Community Detox Service
- Grief Counselling
- A Health and Wellbeing Team
- Annie’s – a dedicated drop-in and outreach service for women in addiction
Recognising that homelessness is a complex and multi-directional issue, with many clients experiencing co-morbid needs relating to dual diagnosis of mental health and addiction, neurodivergence, generational poverty and social isolation, NOVAS Health & Wellbeing Workers provide targeted support for clients relating to their mental and phyiscal health, addiction, building confidence, promoting empowerment and social integration.
TOPPLE
The TOPPLE programme, emanting from award winning research by NOVAS, was created to provide peer-led skills development and education on overdose risk, prevention, and management.
At its core, the programme empowers peer workers (clients of NOVAS) who, with the support of frontline staff, actively promote overdose prevention and strengthen overdose response efforts both within services and in the wider community.
Participants complete a five-week training course that equips them with essential skills to:
- Recognise the signs and symptoms of overdose
- Respond effectively in crisis situations
- Support individuals who have experienced a non-fatal overdose
In 2023, the administration of Naloxone (a life-saving opioid reversal medication) was formally integrated into the training. Following the course, participants volunteer as Peer Workers for periods of three to six months, with the option to continue longer.
Due to its success, the HSE National Social Inclusion Office adopted the programme in 2023 as the national peer-led initiative addressing overdose among at-risk populations. The programme was renamed Circle signifying the connectedness, support, and continuity it fosters in communities and was piloted for a period of six months.
