Who We Are And What We Do
Dublin Simon Community works to prevent and address homelessness in Dublin. We provide services at all stages of homelessness and enable people to move to a place they can call home.
The organisation was founded by a group of Trinity and UCD students in 1969, who began by providing much-needed soup and sandwiches to people who were sleeping rough in Dublin city centre. We still provide the Dublin Simon Soup Run, 365 nights of the year, but things have moved on since then and our range of services reflect the contemporary needs of people who are homeless in Dublin.
In addition to the Soup Run, Dublin Simon provide many services which aim to help those who are sleeping rough on the streets, people who are in their own accommodation - and those who are at any of the stages in between.
These services include the Rough Sleeper Team who engage with those sleeping rough on the streets and provide referrals; emergency accommodation; specialist health, addiction treatment and learning services; help for people to make the transition out of homelessness, and supporting people in their own homes.
Click here for more detailed information on the services we provide.
Our Vision
Everyone who is homeless, or is at risk of becoming homeless has the support they need to access and maintain a home of their own.
Our Mission
To provide high quality services to the most marginalised homeless persons to eliminate long term homelessness.[1]
Our Values
- Community - We provide those associated with Dublin Simon Community, a sense of involvement, inclusion and belonging.
- Excellence and Innovation - We provide services that are cost effective, to best standards and are constantly pioneering new and innovative ways of providing our services.
- Respect - We, as part of the Dublin Simon Community, are committed to showing respect to each other and responsible conduct is expected of from all in the community.
- Accountability & Integrity - We operate with transparency so that we are accountable for actions. We are equitable and fair in all our dealing.
[1] From 2010, long term homeless (i.e. the occupation of emergency accommodation for longer than six months) and the need for people to sleep rough will be eliminated throughout Ireland. The risk of a person becoming homeless will be minimised through effective preventative policies and services. When it does occur homelessness will be short- term and people who are homeless will be assisted into appropriate long-term housing.’ - The Way Home: A strategy to address Adult Homelessness in Ireland 2003- 2013. |