Who are we? We are a local charity who help people who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless in Northern Ireland.

What do you think of when you hear the word home?

hat is the difference between a house and a home? A house is a building for people to provide shelter. A home is place offering security and happiness with family or friends. It is filled with people and things which are special to you.

How would you visualise a homeless person? If I asked you to imagine a homeless person what would you say? Are they male or female? What age are they? – teens or early 20s, 30s, 40s or older? What do they wear? – business suit, nice dress, latest trendy gear or old scruffy clothes?

What is a typical homeless person like? There is no such thing as a typical homeless person. They can be male or female, they can be any age or wear any type of clothing. Homelessness can happen to anyone. A homeless person is a person first and foremost, an individual, who just happens to be homeless. If we then talk about people who are homeless, rather than homeless people.

Why do people become homeless? There are many reasons : Relationship breakdowns – this accounts for over 30% of homelessness in N.I. Debt/Financial difficulty Shortage of affordable housing Unemployment Health problems Leaving the foster care system Having been in prison Drug or alcohol use

What about homelessness in NI Proportionately, we have the worst homelessness figures in the UK Belfast has the 2nd highest level of child poverty in the UK. The number of households that presented as homeless to the Housing Executive in the last year was 18,628 and this is only the number of households that we are aware of. The actual figure will be much higher. The average level of savings held by NI households is £706, so in times of emergency this would not last long. Over 40% of people in NI who are homeless and stay with us are under the age of 25, so we have a very young homeless population. Although there are street sleepers in NI, our biggest problem is with ‘hidden homelessness’. These are the people who are not visible on our streets. They may stay with friends, in hostels like ours or even sleep in their car.

How does Simon Community Help Accommodation – 22 accommodation units which we call projects, across Northern Ireland, providing 367 warm beds. Each person who stays with us has their own room and they can stay for as long as they need. Young People’s Services – We work with the Health and Social Care Trusts to provide accommodation for young people leaving care at the age of 16. We have hostels or projects which are just for young people up to the age of 25. Family Services - Simon Community have a hostel which is for families only as sometimes families can become homeless. Our family project can take 24 families. Harm Reduction – We support clients who identify as having a dependency on drugs and alcohol so that they might improve their health. 24 hour free phone helpline – 0800 171 2222 - This line can be accessed by anyone and we offer advice to anyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Support workers - Our support workers will assess each client’s needs on an individual basis to see what help they require. This could be health issues, education , learning to budget or other support. Resettlement – We help clients to move on or resettle back into the community when they are ready.

How can we end homelessness? We can only end homelessness by all working together - Charities and voluntary organisations Health services Politicians Local businesses Community – Schools, churches, community groups

How can others help? Raise awareness by telling others about the problem of homelessness and what Simon Community NI do. Volunteer – take part in street collections, bag packs etc. Organise an event – sponsored walk, sponsored sleepover/sleepout, cake sale, concert, non-uniform day. Take part in our Shoe Box Appeal or donate to our Welcome Packs. Join in one of our events/campaigns such as Sing for Simon, Soup for Simon, Coastal walk or run the marathon for us. Make a donation – every donation helps us to help others.

THANK YOU On behalf of Simon Community Northern Ireland thank you so much for offering to donate items for our ‘Welcome Packs.’ These are holdall bags which contain some basic toiletries and foods. They will be given to new people who come to stay with us in our accommodation projects as very often people arrive with very few belongings. Thank you for helping us to provide a welcome.