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  • Our history
  1. About us
  2. History

Our history

Black and white image of Anton Wallich-Clifford, the founder of the Simon Community.Anton Wallich-Clifford, a probation officer working in London in the fifties and sixties, noticed that many of the cases he worked with at Bow Street Station had one common factor – several of the names were followed by three simple letters: NFA – No Fixed Abode. Behind these letters lay a complex and overlooked deeper social issue: homelessness.

Anton became increasingly frustrated by the consistent failure of society to address the problem in a meaningful way. Through his work with the probation services he could see the “thousands who fall yearly through gaping holes in the welfare net”. He recognised the work of many committed people and voluntary groups working with people experiencing homelessness, but equally he recognised the need for a new and radical approach to tackling the problem of homelessness.

His frustration with the persistence of the problems resulted in him founding the Simon Community.

In 1969 Anton Wallich-Clifford came to Ireland with a view to recruiting volunteers to work with the many homeless Irish people he was meeting in England. He helped establish in Dublin the first Simon Community.


Old black and white image of volunteers preparing for the Soup Run in the early days of Cork Simon
Two years later, in 1971, Anton came to Cork and advertised a meeting for those interested in helping people experiencing homelessness in and around the city. From that first meeting, a small group of volunteers began to meet regularly. This group, guided by Anton and the Simon Community philosophy and principles, lobbied local businesses and Cork Corporation as it was known at the time. They began a regular count of the number of people sleeping rough and started a nightly Soup Run, a service that continues to operate with the help of volunteers every night of the year. Cork Simon Community was up and running.


Old black and white image of service users outside Cork Simons first emergency shelter in the early seventiesEventually, Cork Simon acquired a property in the city centre to provide shelter and support for people experiencing homelessness. With the incredible support of the people of Cork – supporters, donors and volunteers, in 1996 the Emergency Shelter on Anderson’s Quay opened, which today also houses a Day Service, a high-support house and several flats.

That support from the wider community in Cork has been steadfast. As a result, we now offer care, housing and support to over one thousand men and women each year.

We also support people living in private rented accommodation, in city and county council houses and in accommodation provided by various housing associations; supporting people to keep their tenancies and to begin leaving homelessness behind. There’s a Health Team, a Drug Treatment and Aftercare service, an Employment & Training service, to name but a few.


Old black and white image from the early seventies of a former Cork Simon service userMuch has changed since that first Cork Simon meeting almost 50 years ago – services for people who are homeless have vastly improved; we have a greater understanding of the complex nature of homelessness and the complex responses that are required to tackle homelessness; the profile of people who become homeless has changed and the causes of homelessness have expanded.

But there’s also much that hasn’t changed – volunteers are as much a part of Cork Simon today as they were almost 50 years ago, perhaps more so. The support from the wider community for Cork Simon and the people we support remains as strong as ever. Our values of Community, Commitment to Care, Diversity, Inclusion, Social Justice and Voluntarism continue to guide everything we do.



Come on in - a history of Cork Simon Community

Image of the cover of the book, Come on in - a history of Cork Simon Community by Cork author, Monica McNamara.
Cork author, Monica McNamara has written, 'Come on in - a history of Cork Simon Community'. The book offers an insight into everyday life in the first emergency shelter on John Street which was open from 1972 to 1996.  Former 'workers' in Cork Simon, many of whom worked full-time in a voluntary capacity, contribute to evocative portraits of the men and women experiencing homelessness here in Cork.

'Come on in - a history of Cork Simon Community' is available for sale at our Online Shop and at Waterstones on Patrick Street, Vibes & Scribes on Lavitt’s Quay, The Gift Shop at Nano Nagle Place, and St. Peter’s on North Main Street. All proceeds go to Cork Simon Community.

Published: 14th May, 2019

Updated: 28th October, 2020

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  • Brendan

    Brendan

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

  • Martin

    Martin

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

  • School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC's Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day

    School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UCC's Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day

    We want to make Christmas extra special this year!

    We're organising a Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day in support of people experiencing homelessness here in Cork.

    Please join us in spreading the Jumper Joy - where ever you may be. Let's work together to help fight homelessness here in Cork this Christmas.

  • Viatris LI Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day!!!

    Viatris LI Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day!!!

    We want to make Christmas extra special this year!
    Site QC are organising a Cork Simon Christmas Jumper Day in support of people experiencing homelessness here in Cork.

    Please join me in spreading the Jumper Joy - where ever you may be. Let's work together to help fight homelessness here in Cork this Christmas.

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    At Cork Simon Community, we are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. This website endeavours to conform to level Double-A of the World Wide Web Consortium W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.

  • Christmas Jumper Day

    Christmas Jumper Day

    Where’s me Jumper?! Thousands of you here in Cork donned your Christmas jumpers, dazzle and tinsel bringing Jumper Joy to your home, office, school and online. Vets. Students. Teachers. Lecturers. Hotel s Let's make Christmas extra special this year.

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  • Factsheets

    Factsheets

    View the latest monthly emergency accommodation figures 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.

  • Full time volunteering

    Full time volunteering

    Full-Time Volunteers from Ireland and around the world come to Cork Simon to work alongside our skilled staff at all of our services. Full-Time Volunteers typically spend nine to twelve months at Cork Simon and are an integral part of the team, bringing their skills, energy and diversity to the work we do.

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    Cork Simon Community is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy in compliance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 (as amended), and GDPR. Our Privacy Statement explains when and why we collect personal information about people, how we use it, the conditions under which we disclose it to others and how we keep it secure. It outlines how users can access the information we hold about them or how they can have it updated or, if they wish, erased.

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  • Gifts in wills

    Gifts in wills

    If you know Cork, you know that we live in a caring community. That sense of belonging, that feeling of community was here before all of us – and will be here long after us. An increasing number of our donors are choosing to remember Cork Simon in their Will – shaping a brighter future and continuing to care for people who are homeless in our community.

  • Corporate support

    Corporate support

    Your company can help transform the lives of men and women who are homeless here in Cork. A partnership with Cork Simon demonstrates your care and commitment to your community.

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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: 27th November, 2020

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Donate

Donate

It's been a hard year and now we face a cold, hard winter. But you can make sure everyone who calls Cork home has a home this Christmas. Will you give a Christmas gift today? Read more

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Published: 6th November, 2020

Updated: 11th December, 2020

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50 Faces of Cork Simon

50 Faces of Cork Simon

50 Years in the making, decades in the refining. 50 Faces - one per week, representing 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: 7th December, 2020

Updated: 13th January, 2021

Author: Will Rossi

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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