Kerry Brennan joined Cork Simon 21 years ago as a Full Time Volunteer. Now Head of Services, Kerry reflects on what community and creative, compassionate working means to her.

“One thing that stands out to me in terms of the way that we work in Cork Simon is the sense of creative, collective, problem solving and I think that's a key part of how community comes into it now.

It continually impresses me and it's really moving the way that people bring their compassion and their creativity and their energy to being there with a person and trying to find a way through a problem, and often, the problem doesn't have any perfect solution, but the difference is that the person isn't facing it alone anymore.

And I think that sense of community and that sense of commitment to people to share the burden and to support people through difficult times, is the common thread that has run through all of the evolutions and all of the changes that Cork Simon has gone through as an organisation in its 50 years.”

Kerry talks about addressing homelessness post Covid ...