“You don’t realise until you’re in that situation how serious it is. And how important Dublin Simon is and how important the people like you that donate to them are.
You read about homelessness in the paper but it’s completely different on the street. I don’t think people realise how quickly it can happen. And I know a lot of people who are right on the
borderline of it. It’s huge”
Read Adam's Note
Before I came here I was homeless. I slept in my car for about two months.
It was back when it was raining all the time. And the windows would be fogging up. So, you have to drive around at night to get the heat going.
But you don’t really sleep.
I didn’t lie down once. My feet never left the floor for two months. And you have to figure out how to shower or wash your clothes. There was a garage down near the docks where I’d go wash myself. It was a nightmare.
I had quilts in the car. When you’re getting in and out of the car the blankets get wet. So you’re putting wet blankets on you. And I’ve got bad lungs.
To be honest Dublin Simon was a lifesaver for me.
Even when I was sleeping in the car the Simon outreach team would call out to me every couple of nights. Just to check on me and see that I was OK because they knew so my health wasn’t good. And to see if I wanted a sleeping bag or hot water.
You read about homelessness in the paper but it’s completely different on the street. I don’t think people realise how quickly it can happen. And I know a lot of people who are right on the borderline of it. It’s huge
You even see families sleeping in cars. And they’d see you coming so they’d try to move on a little bit because they don’t want to be seen.
When I got the room here in Dublin Simon it was such a relief.
It felt like I got my life back. I can even keep Buddy here with me. And the staff are so good. They’re really helpful. They feel like family.
Thank you. Honestly thank you. Without you and Dublin Simon I don’t know where I would be. You really are amazing people. Please keep helping. And pass it onto anyone else. It’s so important.
– A
“I was lucky. I had a car to sleep in. There are so many others who don’t even have that.”
Adam’s Story
Adam is one of the kindest and most caring men you could ever meet. But if you saw him today, all you would see is the trauma that homelessness and our housing crisis have put him through.
Adam was already fighting a long-term illness when he lost his home. He and his beloved dog Buddy spent months sleeping in a car.
The damp and cold eventually got deep into Adam’s lungs. Just three short weeks ago Adam collapsed in a park while trying to take Buddy for walk. That’s when he was rushed hospital for immediate care.
Will you please help give people like Adam the immediate practical support they need by making a special gift today?
Across our services, we have residents as young as 18 and as old as 75.
We are now seeing couples and even pregnant women rough sleeping. And we are seeing more and more single men just like in Adam in urgent need of support
Like Adam, many people experiencing homelessness never expected to find themselves in that situation. But homelessness can happen faster than most of us realise.
Will you join our wonderful community of caring people who give a small but life-changing monthly gift to help give people the steady support they need to rebuild their lives?
A monthly gift of €21 or more could allow us to lock additional funds at – no extra cost to you – through the Charitable Donation Scheme. Making your kindness go even further for those in need.
When someone has nowhere else to turn, Dublin Simon Community is there.
“When I got the room here in Dublin Simon it was such a relief. It felt like I got my life back. I can even keep Buddy here with me. And the staff are so good. They’re really helpful. They feel like family”