Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
Cork Simon Community
Call us: 021 4321 051
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Get help Donate
  • Twitter
Menu
  • About us
    • Governance
    • Future vision
    • History
    • Meet Our Team
    • Work with us
  • What we do
    • Housing
    • Emergency
    • Personal development
  • Our impact
    • The difference we make
    • Personal Experiences
  • Support us
    • Donate
    • Sponsor a Room
    • Jumper Day
    • Fundraise
      • Organise an event
      • Upcoming events
    • Our Shop
    • Corporate support
    • Gifts in wills
    • Other ways to help
      • Make your gifts go further
      • Volunteer
  • 50 Faces
    • 50 Faces of Cork Simon
  • Publications and reports
    • Homeless Watch
    • Research
    • Annual Impact Reports
    • Factsheets
  • +353871219203
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  • 50-faces
  1. Home
  2. 50 Faces of Cork Simon

50 Faces of Cork Simon

Fifty Years in the making, decades in the refining.


Building on the ancient ideas of love, liberty and mutual support - ideas that form the basis of a good life and a humane society, we have always believed in people, always believed that everyone who calls Cork home should have a home; should have fair access to safe, secure and affordable housing.
Those Fifty Years bring perspective and clarity; hardening our purpose and resolve, our sense of do or die: ending the nightmare of homelessness for every man and woman turning to us for help.
Ours is a house of a thousand dreams. The people matter. The work matters. The dreams matter.
These Fifty Faces reflect the thousands of men and women who make us what we are: people believing in people, shaping dreams into reality.
These are their words, their stories, our experience.
Fifty Faces marking fifty years of Cork Simon Community.



50 Faces: Tammy

50 Faces: Tammy

“Cork Simon means safe, and happiness, and peace.” Read more

Published: 24th December, 2021

Updated: 10th January, 2022

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Dave

50 Faces: Dave

“Cork is a small enough city that we can help each other. It means we can all take care of each other.” Read more

Published: 17th December, 2021

Updated: 24th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Dick

50 Faces: Dick

"They feel they’re wanted in the area, and they’re accepted in the area.” Read more

Published: 10th December, 2021

Updated: 17th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Colette

50 Faces: Colette

“It changes people's lives, and it helps people to be alive - there are people in recovery today, and if they weren't, they may no longer be with us.” Read more

Published: 3rd December, 2021

Updated: 10th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Donnacha

50 Faces: Donnacha

“Cork Simon was the foundation; it's why I am where I am today." Read more

Published: 26th November, 2021

Updated: 3rd December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Niamh

50 Faces: Niamh

“Shelter is a basic need, it's not something we can compromise on”. Read more

Published: 16th November, 2021

Updated: 26th November, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Eamonn

50 Faces: Eamonn

“There was a certain spontaneity about the whole thing and once it got started, it had a momentum of its own and it was unstoppable.” Read more

Published: 12th November, 2021

Updated: 19th November, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 faces: Kristine

50 faces: Kristine

“Working here truly gives me the experience of connecting theories from my study with my work here.” Read more

Published: 3rd November, 2021

Updated: 12th November, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Kenny

50 Faces: Kenny

"Peace of mind is priceless...and having a house is definitely peace of mind." Read more

Published: 28th October, 2021

Updated: 16th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Barbara-Anne

50 Faces: Barbara-Anne

"When I consider the foundations of the relationship with Cork Simon, we both have a shared understanding of community and respect for people." Read more

Published: 21st October, 2021

Updated: 29th October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Patricia

50 Faces: Patricia

“It was just my place. It was like a job made for me.” Read more

Published: 14th October, 2021

Updated: 22nd October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Glenys

50 Faces: Glenys

“You see, Cork people have a heart and there was a heart in Simon.” Read more

Published: 7th October, 2021

Updated: 15th October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Marguerite

50 Faces: Marguerite

“The way I see Cork Simon is they saved my life really, with all the opportunities that I was given.” Read more

Published: 1st October, 2021

Updated: 11th October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Marnie

50 Faces: Marnie

“It’s a human face, it’s a hot meal, it’s a listening ear.” Read more

Published: 22nd September, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Andrew

50 Faces: Andrew

“It’s a place where people can come to heal if they’ve been really hurt.” Read more

Published: 17th September, 2021

Updated: 16th February, 2022

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Kerry

50 Faces: Kerry

“I think a key aspect of community, for all of us, is that sense of having people in your life.” Read more

Published: 9th September, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Marjorie

50 Faces: Marjorie

“It's a celebration of women; women helping other women.” Read more

Published: 3rd September, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Liam

50 Faces: Liam

“I don’t think you can get involved in touching the face of humanity without being transformed by it.” Read more

Published: 27th August, 2021

Updated: 3rd September, 2021

Author: Paul Sheehan

50 Faces: Ann

50 Faces: Ann

“The need to recognise a person's entitlement and basic need for adequate and secure housing has to be brought into the 21st century in this country.” Read more

Published: 20th August, 2021

Updated: 21st January, 2022

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Paul

50 Faces: Paul

We believe in them and they can believe in us - we’re reliable, we’re there, we don’t let them down. Read more

Published: 13th August, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Alan

50 Faces: Alan

“You need hobbies. It’s just to get up to do it. Your head won’t be racing then.” Read more

Published: 6th August, 2021

Updated: 13th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Máire

50 Faces: Máire

“I felt a kind of an instant rapport. I'm not looking back with rose-tinted glasses because I still feel that today.” Read more

Published: 30th July, 2021

Updated: 6th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: David

50 Faces: David

"Cork Simon builds respect for people who are challenged in many ways and they work really hard to turn things around." Read more

Published: 23rd July, 2021

Updated: 11th October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Mirjam

50 Faces: Mirjam

“With Simon and with Ireland in general, I felt I came home.” Read more

Published: 15th July, 2021

Updated: 6th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Gus

50 Faces: Gus

"We’re all there for one thing and that's to help people." Read more

Published: 8th July, 2021

Updated: 6th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Pat

50 Faces: Pat

“There's an infectious enthusiasm in Simon. There’s a sense of everyone being in this together.” Read more

Published: 2nd July, 2021

Updated: 6th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Caitlín

50 Faces: Caitlín

“We have a small community with a huge heart and the success of this whole event really is the work of many hands.” Read more

Published: 25th June, 2021

Updated: 6th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Ann

50 Faces: Ann

“We don’t fix people; we help people to better their lives in whatever way they chose for us to help them.” Read more

Published: 18th June, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Sr. Catherine

50 Faces: Sr. Catherine

“I hear their pure gift. I hear their genuineness. I hear their wonderful compassion.” Read more

Published: 11th June, 2021

Updated: 6th August, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Eoin

50 Faces: Eoin

“Everybody is working together to make something amazing happen." Read more

Published: 2nd June, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Jim

50 Faces: Jim

"The support available through Cork Simon has made a huge difference to the lives of the individuals but also to their families." Read more

Published: 26th May, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Colette

50 Faces: Colette

“Homelessness is not inevitable, and it can be solved.” Read more

Published: 19th May, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Chrissie

50 Faces: Chrissie

“It is very important that we are able to offer a safe place where people can be treated with dignity and respect.” Read more

Published: 12th May, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Sebastian

50 Faces: Sebastian

“They show me that I’m important in some way; I’m a person and I have some value.” Read more

Published: 4th May, 2021

Updated: 1st March, 2022

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Deirdre

50 Faces: Deirdre

“They gain a sense of pride and self-esteem, that original worry and anxiety is lifted from them and they shine.” Read more

Published: 28th April, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: James

50 Faces: James

“I feel like Cork Simon is a part of me and I’m delighted to be able to help in a small way.” Read more

Published: 23rd April, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Dermot

50 Faces: Dermot

"By our work we help to transform lives and to transform society." Read more

Published: 14th April, 2021

Updated: 1st October, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Desirée

50 Faces: Desirée

"We all want to help vulnerable people, we all want to grow from the experience." Read more

Published: 6th April, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Dermot

50 Faces: Dermot

“Colleagues now feel they’re a part of Simon; they understand what Simon are doing.” Read more

Published: 31st March, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: JJ

50 Faces: JJ

“After all them years I went through, through my eyes, I’m happy enough.” Read more

Published: 24th March, 2021

Updated: 27th May, 2022

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Ger

50 Faces: Ger

“Homelessness is only an identifiable component of a person, it's not the whole person, and where we need to be is looking at the whole person.” Read more

Published: 10th March, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Nora

50 Faces: Nora

“The most important thing is just to stay hopeful for people and take things day-by-day and in small steps.” Read more

Published: 3rd March, 2021

Updated: 8th July, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

50 Faces: Don

50 Faces: Don

"Simon was always picking up the pieces; Simon was always trying to deal with the consequences of our history." Read more

Published: 24th February, 2021

Updated: 27th May, 2022

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: Marie

Fifty Faces: Marie

"Accept yourself. It gives you confidence, gratitude, hope, strength, self-worth. It gives you a shield around you." Read more

Published: 17th February, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: Phillip

Fifty Faces: Phillip

“Time; I suppose that’s the most precious thing we can give anyone.” Read more

Published: 10th February, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: Lorraine

Fifty Faces: Lorraine

"It’s nice to be courteous, to take the time out and talk to someone. And sometimes that means an awful lot to people." Read more

Published: 3rd February, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: DJ

Fifty Faces: DJ

“You’re the hand that people reach for when they have nobody else, and my role is to give you a hand to provide that service.” Read more

Published: 27th January, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: Karen

Fifty Faces: Karen

"I grew up in Simon; it's been my life's work. Cork Simon has been there for me, but I also feel like I’ve been part of Cork Simon’s story." Read more

Published: 20th January, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: Brendan

Fifty Faces: Brendan

"The most wonderful example of caring chaos you could meet. Limitless patience with people...but not as well organised as today" Read more

Published: 13th January, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Christina Giliberti

Fifty Faces: Martin

Fifty Faces: Martin

"Without them, people like me would have neither direction nor hope. We all fall. We all make mistakes." Read more

Published: 6th January, 2021

Updated: 20th December, 2021

Author: Yoann Van Nuwenborg

Back to top

Showing 10 of 50

Latest

  • Annual Fundraising Ball

  • Voluntary Committee

    Voluntary Committee

    A voluntary committee of some of Cork's key business leaders is responsible for organising our Cork Simon Annual Fundraising Ball each Year. Ruth Fuller is this year's voluntary Chair. Hear why Ruth and the other voluntary members are getting involved.

  • Fundraising Ball Sponsors

    Fundraising Ball Sponsors

    Our Cork Simon Annual Fundraising Ball is a unique opportunity for companies interested in placing their brand in front of a captive audience of corporates and high net-worth individuals. See some of those companies that sponsor our Ball year after year.

  • Making a Difference

    Making a Difference

    There are many ways your company can get involved in our Annual Fundraising Ball in a way that your key stakeholders and the broader Cork community will see you working in partnership with Cork Simon to create solutions to homelessness.

Most read

  • Work with us

    Cork Simon Community is committed to equality of opportunity. We are currently recruiting for CE scheme roles.

  • Donate

    Donate

    "No one wants their child to grow up to be homeless." Please give now to help someone escape it today.

  • Factsheets

    Factsheets

    View the latest monthly emergency accommodation figures for Cork and the Southwest from the Department of Housing, and download the Cork Homeless Forum Directory of Services for people experiencing homelessness and their Guide to Emergency Homeless Services in Cork.

  • Jumper Day 2022

    Jumper Day 2022

    Will you hold a Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day so we can be there for every man and woman turning to us for help this Christmas? "No one wants their child to grow up to be homeless on Christmas day." #MoreThanAGift

  • Get Help

    Details of services and contact numbers if you are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.

  • Part time volunteering

    Part time volunteering

    Volunteers founded Cork Simon almost 50 years ago and remain at the heart our community. Part-time volunteers are active in everything Cork Simon does, from sitting on our Board of Directors to helping us to fundraise to supporting people to develop life skills such as cooking, literacy and numeracy.

  • Services team

    Services team

    Key contacts for our range of services, including Emergency, Outreach, Housing and Housing First, Addiction and Aftercare, and Personal Development services.

  • Sponsor a Room

    Sponsor a Room

    As a Room Sponsor you will be helping to save lives. You give a monthly gift, at an amount you can afford, to provide someone who is homeless with a safe room of their own, everything that goes with that, and a pathway to move into independent living. Believing in people.

  • High-support housing

    High-support housing

    Our High-Support Houses throughout Cork provide intensive levels of round-the-clock care every day for men and women whose health and other personal support needs are such that living independently is not currently sustainable.

  • Senior management team

    Senior management team

    Our Director, Dermot Kavanagh, reports directly to the Board of Directors. The Senior Management Team works with Dermot in running Cork Simon’s day-to-day operations.

Tag cloud

Vacancy Walk
Homeless watch

Homeless watch

529 men and women were depending on emergency accommodation in Cork in January 2023 - the highest on record.

Our Emergency Shelter is overflowing. People are staying longer because they have no other options.

Rents in Cork continue to rise while supply remains at an all-time low; Rent Supplement & Housing Assistance Payments fall well-short of current market rents.

See the figures behind the crisis in our regularly updated Homeless Watch. Read more

Published: 26th June, 2019

Updated: 27th February, 2023

Author:

Sponsor a Room

Sponsor a Room

As a Room Sponsor you will be helping to save lives. You give a monthly gift, at an amount you can afford, to provide someone who is homeless with a safe room of their own, everything that goes with that, and a pathway to move into independent living. Believing in people. Read more

Published: 26th August, 2020

Updated: 13th January, 2023

Author:

50 Faces of Cork Simon

50 Faces of Cork Simon

50 Years in the making, decades in the refining. 50 Faces reflecting the thousands of men and women who make us what we are: people believing in people. These are their words, their stories, our experience. Read more

Published: 2nd September, 2022

Updated: 11th January, 2023

Author: Will Rossi

Donate

Donate

"No one wants their child to grow up to be homeless." Please give now to help someone escape it today. Read more

Donate Fundraise

Published: 2nd November, 2022

Updated: 18th January, 2023

Author:

Sign up for our newsletter

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Contact

Cork Simon Community is registered in Ireland as a company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital.
Company Registration Number: 42511
Registered Charity Number: 20022914
Charity Number: CHY 9155

Registered office: St. Nicholas House, Cove Street, Cork. T12 DEH5

Manage Cookie Preferences