Irish cities train homeless to become tour guides

The innovative measure has been implemented successfully by social enterprise in Dublin and Drogheda

A Social enterprise in Ireland has been tackling the issue with homelessness for years in an extraordinarily creative way. My Streets Ireland empowers people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides by giving them the necessary training and moral support with a double upshot. On the one hand it helps immensely those who have found themselves in difficult life situation and social exclusion and on the other - guarantees a specially tailored experience to tourists by mixing common knowledge and personal accounts of the genius loci. Finally, the city itself has a lot to gain from showcasing of tourism hidden gems in an innovative way.

The project has been running successfully in Drogheda since 2014 and in last November it was replicated in the capital of Ireland. Apart from the visible and measurable effects of these actions, the initiative manages to raise awareness of the growing issue of social insecurity in Ireland while attempting to change the attitude towards homeless people, the number of which is close to 10 000.

Finally, the revenue from tour tickets is split equally between the organizers for maintaining their activity and the tour guides. You too can help the social cause by becoming a sponsor or becoming a customer. Tours are offered each day of the week on request. For more information and booking, visit My Streets Ireland.