A recent charity report has revealed a marked increase in the number of homeless people across Cork. The rise in individuals resorting to sleeping on the streets shot up by over a third during the preceding year. The same period also saw a significant surge in the demands for the soup run operated by Cork Simon, doubling in fact. The report was released ahead of the impending Simon Week, scheduled to run from the 23rd to the 27th of September. The homeless charity has organised events spanning the nation throughout the week to draw attention to the challenges faced by those without a home.
Cork Simon’s director, Dermot Kavanagh, disclosed that 2023 proved to be a challenging year for the charity. They had witnessed a steady climb in the number of people approaching for assistance year on year, as well as existing long-term homeless individuals, along with those sleeping rough on the streets, compared to figures from 2022.
“A sharp rise of 9% in just a year brought the number of people seeking our aid to 1,498. Our encounter with people sleeping rough increased, as did the number of individuals resorting to our emergency lodgings. We saw a growing diversification in the type of help needed,” Kavanagh reported.
Kavanagh further informed of Cork Simon’s successful efforts at expanding its emergency housing capacity by 17% to provide for 75 people each night in 2023. However, despite this, there was a 34% rise in the number of people trapped in emergency housing for a period extending beyond six months – deemed the long-term homeless.
Outreach teams from Cork Simon also found a third more people sleeping rough on Cork’s streets. The number of individuals reliant on the charity for their nightly soup run also echoed this increase.
According to the annual report from Cork Simon for 2023, support was extended to 1,498 men and women across all its services – a 9% increase compared to the prior year. Simultaneously, its key emergency shelter and Night Light emergency accommodation service supported 540 people in 2023, an increase from an average 64 bodies per night in 2022 to 75 per night.
The study revealed a significant increase in the quantity of individuals facing protracted homelessness (stays exceeding six months in emergency housing over a year’s span) at Cork Simon’s emergency accommodation, with the figure reaching 67 in 2023, a 34% annual rise. The outreach squad from Cork Simon interacted with 577 males and females, individuals struggling with homelessness in 2023, marking a 39% hike from 2022. On average, the team came across 30 individuals each night, a startling hike of 135%, whilst 13,743 warm meals were provided by Cork Simon’s soup run in 2023, double the previous number.
In 2023, Cork Simon actively assisted 46 people in transitioning from homelessness towards secure, affordable and independent living. Moreover, 101 individuals received aid via Cork Simon’s addiction management and aftercare programme, depicting a 23% boost.
According to Mr Kavanagh, they’re encountering an escalating stream of people being thrust into homelessness, as finding affordable accommodation has become increasingly challenging. A pro-active measure taken was the initiation of a novel service for the prevention of homelessness last year, created to halt the unfortunate trajectory of people towards homelessness. In only nine months, the service effectively prevented almost 60 individuals from having to resort to emergency beds and entangling themselves in services for the homeless.
Despite these difficulties, and a focus on diminishing the deficit from 2022, the sheer resilience of the community was apparent. The report disclosed that 12,497 benefactors contributed €5,203, with 88p out of every pound being directly invested into services and activities centred on combating homelessness. These were made possible by the active involvement of 400 part-time volunteers and 31 full-time volunteers drawn from five different nations. The deficit of 2022 was successfully slashed by more than half a million euro to just €180,000, with the focus now being on achieving break-even by year end, thereby enabling Cork Simon to continue tackling the consequential challenges.