Mobile help unit for people on nights out in Dublin to open this weekend
It will operate on Camden Street every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm until 3am.
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Nicknamed the "Nee Naw", the mobile unit will include a medic, a welfare officer, two trained security personnel - one male and one female - and a site operator.
A similar initiative was previously trialled at College Green.
Dublin's Night-Time Economy Advisor, Ray O'Donoghue, told Newstalk that it will offer non-judgmental support for anyone in need.
"We're the go-between A&E and the guards, we don't want people necessarily having to go to a garda station, we don't want people having to go to A&E, we know how that can be and how that can last, you could be there for 10 or 11 hours on a busy Saturday, so we want to be able to deal with those small first aid cases, kind of be some kind of a triage," Mr O'Donoghue said.
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The initiative is run by Dublin City Council and supported by the Department of Justice, and is designed to provide support to people who may need assistance during a night out, whether they feel unwell, overwhelmed or need a calm and friendly place to regroup.
The help zone will be a branded mobile unit and will run for a six to eight-week pilot period from July 4th.
Paul Clinton, who owns nearby Flannery's Bar, told the station that it will help cut down on ambulance call-outs.
"It's a problem in the city, Dublin city suffers from people not feeling safe late at night, and this initiative will be fantastic, it just shows the city council someone cares, it's a great facility to have on the street, we think it's great, and we wish it the best."
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Mr O'Donoghue added that it follows on from a similar pilot at College Green over Christmas, which was a "learning experience".
"That was the whole idea behind it, we only ran it for three nights over a busy time, we had a lot of people come up, we were up to 150 over the course of the night, but only a few incidents. This will be a busier, higher footfall area, and a busier nighttime crowd, I'd say," he said.
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