Simon resources ‘stretched to the limit’

CORK Simon, which is opening a temporary cold shelter with support from the St Vincent de Paul today, says that it is experiencing unprecedented demand for its services.

Between January and October of this year, 18 homeless people supported by Cork Simon Services — 12 men and six women — died. The youngest was 18 and the oldest was over 65. That’s five more deaths than in all of 2005.

“We are stretching our resources to the limit to respond to the increasing need,” said Cork Simon director Colette Kelleher. “During the first half of 2006, the Cork Simon Day Centre supported 544 people — a 122% increase on all of 2005. On average, 80 people per day are accessing our services and support. This compares to an average of 71 people per day accessing the Day Centre in all of 2005.”