Number of people Simon Communities helped last year went up 8%

The Simon Communities operates a network of independent Communities based in Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, the Midlands, the Mid West, the North West and the South East. Photo: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

The number of people who depended on the services of the Simon Communities increased by 8% last year, while a survey by the charity found a fifth of people know someone forced to stay with family or friends due to the lack of a tenancy.

When the Simon Communities carried out the same survey last year, the percentage of people who gave the same answer was even higher, at one-in-three, but the charity said the housing crisis is still unfolding despite some positive trends.

Launching its annual report, the Simon Communities said it assisted 18,087 people last year – an additional 1,387 people. 

It said 116,000 bed nights were provided by the Simon Communities in Ireland in 2019 via 338 emergency accommodation beds, while 5,010 people were supported with tenancies and housing all around the country.

The report also shows that:

• 1,765 people accessed Simon emergency accommodation;
• 20,255 contacts with soup kitchen runs in Cork and Dublin;
• 7,345 people accessed food bank services in the Midwest;
• The 18,087 people it assisted included 4,431 families with 6,406 children.

The Simon Communities operates a network of independent Communities based in Cork, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, the Midlands, the Mid West, the North West and the South East.

In addition to its core services, it also provided specialist treatment and support services in 2,374 cases, with some people accessing treatment more than once. Prevention, early intervention and advice services were accessed in 2,694 cases, with some people accessing services more than once, while 846 people accessed Education, Training and Employment services.

Wayne Stanley, National Spokesperson for the Simon Communities of Ireland, said work on ending the housing crisis needed to continue.

"The transformative nature of the 2020 pandemic in all of our lives and all sectors of society means reflecting on 2019 can feel like looking back at a different era but the pandemic demonstrated how fragile the situation was, and just how at-risk people in emergency and temporary accommodation could be," he said.

"In 2020 we have seen an enormous collaborative effort to keep those experiencing homelessness safe. That effort in conjunction with the moratorium on evictions saw a reduction in the number of people in emergency homeless accommodation. However, the Simon Communities in Ireland prevention services are as busy as ever. This speaks to our concerns around the levels of hidden homelessness and the challenge that awaits us in 2021."

Mr Stanley said the long-term solution to homelessness is a sufficient supply of social and affordable housing to meet the needs of the population.