Simon group provides shelter for 750 in Cork

MORE THAN 750 people accessed services from the Cork Simon Community last year but no one had to sleep rough in the city during the coldest winter in living memory, the charity said yesterday.

Launching the organisation’s annual report for 2010, Minister of State for Older People Kathleen Lynch paid tribute to Cork Simon for its work over the past 40 years with “the most vulnerable, the most marginalised and those most in need” in the city.

Cork Simon board chairman Dave Ronayne thanked the people of Cork for their support since 1971 which had enabled the charity to provide key initiatives to help the homeless.

Mr Ronayne pointed out that while some 484 people stayed at Cork Simon’s emergency shelter last year, there were enough emergency beds in Cork so that no one had to sleep rough through the harsh winter.

The report showed that some 84 per cent of those who sought support from Cork Simon were men and 16 per cent were women. The number of women staying at the emergency shelter increased by 46 per cent in 2010.

The number of people staying six months or more increased by 40 per cent last year, while the number of people using the shelter for the first time increased by 22 per cent last year.

Cork Simon’s acting director Aaron O’Connell revealed a health audit carried out by the charity found that some 66 per cent of those using its services had an underlying mental health problem while 59 per cent had an underlying physical health problem.