Simon Community (Galway)

opis organizacji

Galway Simon Community (GSC) was set up in 1979 by a group of volunteers who refused to accept homelessness on the streets of Galway. Since then, Galway Simon Community has been preventing homelessness, restoring dignity and rebuilding lives. Galway Simon Community has helped thousands of families and individuals, within our local community and beyond, to overcome homelessness and to leave it behind them for good. For others, we have been a pillar of ongoing support to ensure that they do not fall into the cycle of homelessness again
With the support of the wider community, Galway Simon Community has grown, developed, learned and adapted over the years to become a leading provider of homeless and homelessness prevention services in the region .
Galway Simon Community support a person’s right to security, dignity and wellbeing in their own home. We are relentlessly committed to finding answers to the questions faced by real people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. It is our belief that early intervention is the most effective means of reducing the trauma and cost associated with homelessness.

Vision
A community where everyone lives in a place they call home.

Mission
- Play a constructive role in finding solutions for people who are homeless, or at risk of being homeless, through prevention services, providing access to housing, and providing health and wellbeing services.
- Provide holistic support by collaborating with statutory and voluntary agencies, friends, supporters and the wider community to combat homelessness.
- Work towards eliminating homelessness through advocacy, education and campaigning.

Values
- Compassion: truly caring is at the forefront of who we are. We demonstrate solidarity with our clients, with a willingness to help carry the burden.
- Competence: our staff are skilled, professional and flexible, providing innovative approaches to resolving issues, resulting in positive outcomes for clients.
- Client-centred support: ensuring the client is at centre of all we do. Listening to clients’ needs and situations and offering support accordingly, always with respect.
- Commitment: a strong commitment to our ethos and our clients within our work, adopting a ‘whatever it takes’ approach.
- Community: creating a community and support which allows clients to feel a sense of belonging in which they can thrive. Our stakeholders, clients, staff, volunteers, board of directors, funders, donors and the wider public who support us are central to our community.
- Collaboration: the organisation actively works to establish and maintain trust and cooperative working relationships between multiple stakeholders, with honesty, integrity and complete transparency.

Purpose
We are deeply committed to finding answers to the individual challenges faced by real people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

Ethos
Galway Simon is first and foremost a community. The client is at the heart of what we do and will remain at the heart of what we do, despite increasing demands and ever-changing challenges. We recognise that where people have been displaced, excluded and have had significant traumas in their lives, they face more obstacles and may have difficulties navigating their own paths. We create purposeful relationships with clients, working together to find the solutions that most appropriately meet their needs. Every client and situation is different and we endeavour to be accepting, compassionate and extremely resourceful in our work. We build relationships and trust with our clients, demonstrate belief in them, commit to being there for them for as long as it takes, and sometimes just as importantly, ensure they know that. Within Galway Simon there is a commitment to providing people with the help they need when they need it; we make every effort to overcome the obstacles that our clients are faced with, always with humanity and proficiency.

Our main activities & target groups:
Galway Simon Community provide a range of support and housing services to people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness. Our services focus on three key areas; Homelessness Prevention, Housing and Health & Wellbeing.

We attach our most updated Communication Activity report as an annex for the period Jan to October 2021 which shows the breakdown of our clients and the range of services that we provide. Demand for assistance continues to increase as evidenced by the 45% increase in client referrals into our services compared to same period in 2020.