The housing crisis is pushing people into homelessness and preventing people from leaving homelessness. Our Emergency Shelter is overflowing with an average of 53 people per night relying on a Cork Simon emergency bed. People are staying for longer and longer in emergency accommodation because they have no other options. Rents in Cork City increased 5.3% last year; Rent Supplement and Housing Assistance Payments do not come near asking rents.
Our Emergency Shelter is located on Anderson’s Quay, in the heart of Cork city centre. The Shelter provides care, accommodation and one-to-one support for 47 people around-the-clock, every day of the year. Demand for emergency beds is high – Throughout 2016 the Shelter accommodated an average of 54 people per night – the need for emergency accommodation is so great that we try to accommodate as many people as is safe to do so.
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If you know Cork, you know that we live in a caring community. And that sense of belonging, that feeling of community, was here before all of us – and will be here long after us.
Here at Cork Simon, we are blessed that our supporters have enriched our organisation – and our community – with their generous gifts.
What we’ve achieved, with the amazing support of our donors, represents our community at its very best. Read More
April 25th, 7:44 pm
Shane has seen hard time but his hardest nights were the ones spent cold and alone on the streets of Cork; “I lived out on the streets and it was absolutely horrific. It’s painful. It’s absolutely painful, standing out there in the freezing cold. It could be raining on top of you. Everything about you is just shattered.”
No one should be without a home, a place of safety, warmth and shelter. People deserve better.
April 23rd, 7:13 pm
Anna has seen her life change so much this year. She's work hard with her support workers to find her path out of homelessness and now she's finally feeling like her life has turned a corner.
“I’ve seen myself grow since I started counselling. I have a fresh start at life again after 45 years. I never thought I was good enough to even go for a coffee without my key worker, Chrissie; I’d be so nervous, I’d be shaking. But now I go on my own and I sit there and I watch the people around me chatting to each other and I know fit in here too.” Anna.
April 21st, 8:10 pm
Full time volunteer Emma thinks it can be hard for people who are homeless and have had no where to call home to trust that they are now safe when they come to one of our High Support Houses, sometimes old habits die hard because of fear…
“Dinners in the house are a big thing. People are used to not having enough food when they were living on the street. Sometimes they hoard food just because they’re worried when they’ll have their next meal even though they know they’re here, they’re safe and they can stay as long as they need to.”
Because of your support we're there for the people who need us -ensuring people have enough to eat and somewhere safe, warm to lay there head at night. Thank you for believing in people.
April 20th, 7:28 pm
“I’m one year and 3 months sober - it was hard work. I got here because of me and because of the support of Simon. I'm happy in here in the High Support House because they understand me. Any help I've wanted or needed they've been here for me, telling me I could do it." Marie
Thanks to your support people like Marie have a place to turn to and someone to believe in them when they need it most. Believe in People.
Congrats and keep up the good work.........
April 18th, 7:33 pm
“People are sharing very small rooms and spaces, one person or both might have a very bad mental health issue and it’s tough on people. Trying to manage that is difficult enough but when there are so few options for people to find a way out of here it only makes a hard situation harder.” Shelter worker Chrissie
Chrissie's words echo the sad reality for many people in our Emergency Shelter...trapped in temporary accommodation because of a lack of affordable housing options.
People deserve better.
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