Rough Sleeper Team

The Dublin Simon Community Rough Sleeper Team operate 365 days of the year to provide a service to people living on the street with the aim of moving them out of homelessness and into independent living.

The Rough Sleeper Team, also known as RCOS  (Regional Contact & Outreach Service), provide support to rough sleepers and help them engage with mainstream services including emergency accommodation, addiction treatment options, social welfare services and primary healthcare services. The RCOS also provide assistance with food and clothing and a needle exchange service (see below for more information about this).

The Dublin Simon Rough Sleeper Team operates from 8am to midnight Mon-Fri and  3pm to midnight on Saturday and Sunday. To contact the Rough Sleeper Team call (01) 872 0185.

Referrals

The team visits existing clients and makes new contacts at their ‘skippers’ (where they sleep), at meal-centres and day-centres, and anywhere else accessed by people who are homeless.

The team is often alerted to the location of rough sleepers by other voluntary or statutory organisations or by members of the public. 

Service Provision

We support our clients by helping them plan a way to get off the streets and into supported accommodation.

Care Planning

Homelessness is usually caused by some form of personal crisis – such as a relationship breakdown or bereavement, or physical or sexual violence in the home combined with the experience of poverty. Mental and physical health issues, as well as addiction problems, can also accelerate a spiral towards homelessness. Many people experiencing homelessness suffer from mental and physical illness.

Contact with the team is the first step for rough sleepers to move from the danger and uncertainty of the streets to supported accommodation or independent living. The Rough Sleeper Team also refer clients to other specialised emergency services, including the Dublin Simon Alcohol Detox service. 

Needle Exchange

The aim of the Dublin Simon Needle Exchange Service is to offer a non-judgemental harm reduction emergency exchange for IV drug users. The service operates outside the hours of the main fixed needle exchange services provided by the HSE. The needle exchange service provides sterile injecting equipment to prevent the spread of diseases such as Hep C and HIV and to ensure the safe disposal of used injecting paraphernalia.