Description
Cork Simon works in solidarity with men and women who are homeless, offering housing and support in their journey back to independent or supported living. Cork Simon works in solidarity with men and women who are homeless, offering housing and support in their journey back to independent or supported living. Every night we provide over 115 beds for people in Cork who are homeless.
If you are homeless or at risk of homelessness, contact our Emergency Shelter on 021 4278 728 or see www.corksimon.ie for more contact details.
There are many ways you can support Cork Simon including donating and volunteering. For more details see www.corksimon.ie.
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When I open my shop every morning I see so many people who are in need and I’ve always wanted to do something to help”, says Rasa – owner of Tea and Coffee Land on Fenn’s Quay. She has settled on what she wants to do to help – and you can too. As Rasa fills a paper bag with tea leaves at her shop she tells us about the Cork Simon Coffee Morning she’s hosting on Sunday 26 March from 10.00am to 2.00pm: “The gap here in Ireland between the people who have nothing and the people who have plenty is much wider than anything I’ve ever seen in Lithuania. Holding a Cork Simon Coffee Morning seemed like the right fit; my children have promised to help me on the day and we hope that people will come along and enjoy.” Please join Rasa and her family at Tea and Coffee Land on Fenn’s Quay on Sunday 26 March from 10.00am to 2.00pm. Thee’s still time to hold your own Cork Simon Coffee Morning: www.corksimon.ie/coffeemorning
RTÉ News
High Hopes of music to their ears? The High Hopes choir hopes so as they delivered their first ever performance outside Ireland to deliver a message to the European Parliament’s MEP’s in Brussels: Tear down stereotypes of homeless people. The High Hopes Choir Includes people from Cork, Dublin and Waterford who have experienced homelessness first hand. Let’s hope our MEP’s were left with the message of homes, health, hope ringing in their ears.
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Fresh starts are hard won for people recovering from addiction; a safe place to call home can make all the difference. For many people in our two Aftercare houses finding a home of their own while continuing their recovery seems impossible. “It all comes back to housing,” Max, our Aftercare and Addiction Support worker, says. “It’s difficult for people to move on from the Aftercare houses because the accommodations is just not there; the rents have increased so much. For one person in our Aftercare houses it’s particularly hard; he has children and they can’t visit him. It’s tough, it’s so tough. Especially because he’s done everything he can.” Sadly, in the current housing crisis, doing everything right doesn’t seem to be enough. People deserve better.
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On cold concrete, with no shelter from the rain, a group of 25 young people are huddled together. Sleeping bags, sheets and cardboard are discarded around them, morning commuters on their way to work do a double take. They ask questions. Thirteen-year-old Brian takes the chance to tell them what he’s learned about homelessness and why we all need to be asking more questions. Brian’s experience as part of a sleep-out by a group of 25 young people,organised by Coachford Foroige has resulted in him wanting to do more: “The first couple of hours we thought it was fun. But then the rain came, that’s when we really started to realise what it’d be like if we were homeless, if this was our life. We could go home in the morning and have a shower, eat and then go to bed. People who are homeless can’t do that. I’m thirteen and not many people my age know what it’s like for people who are homeless, or know that we can make a real difference. Doing this has really given me a driving force to keep going and keep trying to make a difference.” Thank you so much to Brain and all the members and leaders of Coachford Foroige for knowing that everyone has the power to make a difference. They raised an incredible €3,055.
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Happy St Patrick Day - may you always have walls for the wind, a roof for the rain and a warm cup of tea by the fire. The love of hearth and home runs deep in all of us. But what happens when you’re left without a roof over your head? No walls to shelter you from the elements? Nothing to warm you but a few blankets or a sleeping bag? Thanks to your help there’s an open door, shelter and warmth for everyone not touched by that old Irish blessing. We’re here for people whenever they need us – every night of the year. Thanks to you we are the walls against the wind, the roof against the rain and the warm cup of tea by the fire. Thank You for believing in people.
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Take one dedicated volunteer, add a generous and understanding community, throw some coffee into the mix and you get an outstanding result! These are the magic ingredients that Marie says will make her Coffee Morning on St Patricks Day extra special: “We decided we’d all work for free in my Cafe On The Lane in Clonakilty - my friends are going to bake and we’re going to donate all the proceeds on the day to Cork Simon. Why Cork Simon? I just think it’s time to care about people who have no one else to take care of them.” Thank you, Marie, for taking time out to help make a difference. We can all play a part in the fight against homelessness. You can play your part by hosting your own Cork Simon Coffee Morning – sign-up here: wwww.corksimon.ie/coffeemorning
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One month on from arriving here in Cork from Sunny Spain to volunteer for 12 months, Alvaro says volunteering has already changed his life: "It's the people, here at work, on the street; everyone! They just can't do enough to be helpful. My very first day volunteering in the Shelter, I got lost trying to find my way there. I was on Oliver Plunkett Street and I didn't know where to go. I asked this woman: 'Can you help me find the Cork Simon shelter?'. She didn't just give me directions she walked me to the shelter and wished me good luck on my first day. Everything about being here has changed my life - the place, but most of all the people."
‘It pains me that this is my country’ - Cork family facing homelessness
Staring homelessness in the face is taking its toll on people who are doing everything right but feel helpless when the housing crisis knocks on their door – a private rented door. Marie and her family here in Cork are facing homelessness because of soaring rents. “I go out, I work hard, I pay my bills, I pay my taxes, I respect others, I treat people with dignity, I care about my community, I care about my neighbours and yet I’m still losing my home”, Marie told RTE’s ‘Morning Ireland’. People Deserve Better…Much Better.
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The owner of DUKES Coffee Company says he didn’t need to look far to see the effects of homelessness in Cork: “I see it opening the shop early in the morning, people asleep in the shop doorway”, Aidan says. “We’re in business twelve years but in the last year I’ve never seen homelessness as bad as it is. When it happens to you it must be a very lonely place to be.” His early morning encounters inspired Aidan to do something to help. Signing up to hold a Cork Simon Coffee Morning was the natural fit. The proceeds of every coffee Dukes Coffee Shops sell between 10.30am and 12 noon on Thursday will go towards helping to fight homelessness ! Thank you Aidan and Dukes for joining the fight against homelessness here in Cork. Will you join the fight? There’s still time to sign up and hold your own Coffee Morning: www.corksimon.ie/coffeemorning
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Some people are dealt a very poor hand in life. With that thought firmly in mind Douglas Bridge Club recently decided to help even the odds a little by holding a Bridge Tournament to raise money in support of people experiencing homelessness. As volunteer organiser Dick Langford put it, “We play in the dark nights of the winter and Simon seemed like an enormously worthy cause to make the special effort for. Cork Simon are dealing with enormously difficult social problem and are doing it in an understated way while staying true to their ethos of volunteerism, which is at it's core.” 70 people descended on Douglas Golf Club to display their bridge skills and play their part in the fight against homelessness. The result: €600! Thank you to all who participated and helped organise – and thank you for believing in people. Let’s keep working together to keep evening those odds!
Meet Patricia
Meet Patricia,she's the assistant housekeeper in our Emergency Shelter & she has one very simple request to ask you this weekend! Sign Up to hold a Coffee Morning this March: corksimon.ie/coffeemorning
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Taking shelter from the rain at Fota Island recently, a number of residents of our Emergency shelter were able to get some respite from the daily trauma of homelessness. Our activities team brought a group to Fota for some fresh air, a little bit of exercise and a chance to take a break from the daily battle. Our 47 bed Emergency Shelter is overflowing every night as the need for food, warmth and shelter continues to grow. Well over 50 people a night are staying in a Cork Simon bed these days – we take in as many people as is safe to do so. Activities offer people a chance to get away from it all for an hour or two; it can make all the difference.
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