Cork Simon Community

Cork Simon works in solidarity with people who are homeless or have experienced homelessness. We provide a voice to one of the most marginalised group s in Irish society - the homeless community. Our vision as an organisation is a society without homelessness and for 50 years we have worked towards this goal. Our most recent community Strategic plan - Home at Last- investigated what our objects and goals would be and what would prompt us to act. We found that the answer to what motivates us as an organisation was concern for those in homelessness or at serious risk of homelessness. It is more than that however - Cork Simon is especially concerned for people for whom homelessness is not just a temporary event in their lives due to economic circumstances etc. "Cork Simon is particularly concerned for those whose experience of homelessness is not just a short term setback resulting from pressures in the housing market but is a longer term manifestation of deep social exclusion linked to experiences of childhood trauma, addiction, mental and physical health problems." (Home at last, 2016). As such we also have deep concerns about the inadequate public policy response to the issue of homelessness.. This was a rolling strategic plan which allows us to move and adapt to changing circumstances throughout the lifetime of the plan. The pandemic has delayed the development of our next community plan but for now we are still working to the Home at Last plan. Cork Simon, under this plan, commits to continue to work towards a Housing -led approach which is in line with current government policy (Irish Government Homelessness policy Statement 2013; Rebuilding Ireland, Pillar One, Address Homelessness)) as well as EU policy both of which recognise the importance of a housing-led approach to tackling homelessness in Ireland and beyond. This plan stated that volunteers were a key part of the realisation of the goals and objectives of the plan and recognised the importance of specific back-office supports to support our volunteers. Cork Simon is a value-based organisation and we always aim to work to our core values which are Community, Inclusion, Diversity, Commitment to Care, Voluntarism and Social Justice. In order to meet our objectives and strategic goals Cork Simon offers a range of services and supports. These include emergency accommodation, high-support residential housing, housing support (supporting people in living independently), an Employment and Training programme, an Activities programme, an outreach service and rough sleeper service, aftercare supports for those exiting treatment for addiction. We also have a dedicated Campaigns and Communication team which works on raising awareness of, and action on, policy issues at both a local and national level. As an organisation we work with people at risk of homelessness in the Cork and Kerry area. The people we support often have had multiple traumas in their lives and many have complex needs as a result. Cork Simon has adopted a trauma-informed approach to our work and ensure that trauma awareness underpins the approaches we take. We work with adults affected by homelessness throughout the region. In general Cork Simon is a low-threshold service which means we often work with people that other organisations may not be in a position to engage with. Many of the people we support have addiction issues, mental health issues, have experienced childhood trauma, some would have physical health issues, intellectual disabilities as well as dealing with the trauma of homelessness. We work with people from many different cultures and backgrounds from within Ireland ,such as the Traveller community, and from many cultures outside of Ireland. Many of those we work with would have English as a second language. We place a special emphasis on young people in our services and have a dedicated youth drug prevention worker who works with those under 26 years of age in order to move them out of emergency