A little about us…

Dundalk Simon Community has been working with people who experience homelessness for forty years. Exceptional work with significant outcomes has been achieved over these years and a vibrant and creative community of staff, volunteers, residents and former residents now form the backbone of the organisation. From its beginnings as a soup run in 1973, Dundalk Simon has grown and developed in a manner that has placed the needs of people who are homeless in Dundalk and the wider counties of the north-east to the forefront of everything we do.

Dundalk Simon Community offers a range of options to people who are experiencing homelessness; from temporary emergency accommodation in Barrack Street for up to 26 people at any one time (114 individuals in 2014) to day centre services for 165 people (2014) in Seatown House. Seatown House is also the base for the administration functions of Dundalk Simon and has very quickly become a focal point for former residents and people who are living in Barrack Street and are being supported in their move to independent living. Open Monday to Friday, 9am- 5pm, with a further drop-in service on a Saturday morning, Seatown House has become a vital part of Dundalk Simon’s efforts to ensure that people who are homeless in Dundalk have access to support across the organisation at all times of the week.

The work of Dundalk Simon is further enhanced by the Crescent Project on Castle Road which is run in conjunction with the HSE and provides a supported home for four adults with learning disabilities, as well as the Mo Shaol Shared Lodgings Scheme, servicing an additional ten individuals within an adult fostering envrionment. Both are innovative projects in that they bridge a service gap for people with a learning disability who find themselves homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We are presently exploring further the long term supported housing needs of the people living in the Crescent Project with a view to developing more individual independent living within a reduced support framework.

But the public face of Dundalk Simon Community is often, for many people, the Simon Shop in Yorke Street. Staffed by part-time workers (through supported employment programmes) and volunteers, the shop is yet another focal point of our work in Dundalk and provides an important source of income for the community.

Currently we are developing a workplan for 2015 that will cover all aspects of our work and which, when fully implemented, will ensure that Dundalk Simon Community remains at the forefront of service delivery for people who experience homelessness in Dundalk and the surrounding area.

Visit www.dundalksimon.ie, www.simon.ie or join us on facebook for further information.