STAFF AT Cork Simon Community have warned of a funding crisis, saying they had no choice but to turn 500 people away from their emergency shelter this year.
Senator Dan Boyle of the Green Party launched Cork Simon Community’s annual report for 2007 yesterday. It highlights a difficult funding environment for homeless services that will pose serious challenges over the coming years.
At the launch, Cork Simon director Colette Kelleher said much was achieved against the odds.
“In spite of our struggle to secure adequate resources to run our services, we managed to meet the needs of over 1,400 people. We managed to secure permanent housing for people who now have greater comfort and security than they’ve experienced in a long time.
“We introduced a counselling service for people who have no home and are battling with mental ill-health. In short, we were able to offer hope to more people than ever.”
However, citing gaps in existing services, Ms Kelleher said the emergency shelter was full every night, leading to 500 people who needed emergency accommodation being turned away.
Mr Boyle said the Government response to homelessness, which had seen increased resources in recent years, needed to be sustained. The imminent publication of a homelessness strategy would hopefully provide a context in which support for homelessness could be improved, irrespective of changing economic circumstances.
The report indicated that 1,421 people used one or more of Cork Simon’s projects and services.
An average of 42 people a day used the day centre – 949 people in all. Some 102 people were accommodated at the cold-weather shelter over the Christmas-New Year period.
The Cork Simon Housing Plus team supported 88 people in Cork Simon flats, private rented accommodation and city council housing.
Galtan, a new independent housing association that Cork Simon helped to establish, made four new independent-living flats available at the end of 2007.
Cork Simon has more than 600 active volunteers. Some 88 per cent of all expenditure goes on the direct provision of projects and services.