Simon Community

In 2015 over 1,200 people turned to Cork Simon Community for help. Men and women, young and not so young, people with a variety of backgrounds and life experiences.  Anyone can become homeless.  In 2015 about 14% of people we supported were women. 13% were 18-26 year olds. 41% of our Emergency Shelter residents were homeless for the first time.

People become homeless for a variety of different reasons. For many, homelessness is the result of a brief crisis in their lives. For some people homelessness occurs because of a culmination of multiple crises over a long period, many of which can be outside their control. They build up over time – sometimes years, until that final crisis moment that triggers homelessness.

Homelessness makes you sick. Being sick can make you homeless. Rough sleeping, surviving in squats or living in poor or overcrowded housing can impact negatively on a person’s health. People who are homeless tend to have higher morbidity from physical conditions that are common, as well as conditions that are rarely found, in the general population.