Galway Simon Community believes that everyone deserves their own place to live, and that everyone should have a chance to live as independently as they can while getting the support they need.
With this in mind, we have a range of housing projects for men and women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness which, together with a number of apartments, provide different levels of support based as closely as possible on the needs and wishes of the individual. Some of our projects provide a home for life, while others are designed to help people for a short time and then assist them to resettle in the community, but all our projects have a common philosophy of respect for those who use our services.
Galway Simon Community operates a system of key working and care planning in all its projects to enable individuals to set achievable goals and to live with dignity and respect. An outcomes management and measuring system is being piloted at present as part of the key working and care planning.
Galway Simon Community has a Service User/Residents Forum which meets regularly, is independently facilitated, and has been instrumental is setting up a national forum within the other Simon Communities.
Support is provided here on a 24 hour 7 days a week basis. While the level of support and care is very high, service users are given as much autonomy as if they were living independently and are encouraged in every way to take an active part in the running of the houses.
This high support service was the first ever women only service in the Simon community in either Ireland or the U.K. Women can remain here for life, or for any length of time that is required to help them move back into supported or independent living.
We offer a supportive living environment in which service users have the opportunity to address complex needs that may have prevented them from securing or maintaining permanent accommodation in the past. Service users are assisted to develop an individual resettlement plan in which emphasis is placed on personal development.
We also provide tenancy support to people who have moved on from all of the projects and are living in the community, either in Galway Simon apartments or in their own accommodation.
This is high quality accommodation in a secure and supportive environment with balanced communities of men and women, young and old.
It is our aim to challenge the processes in society that continue to allow homelessness to exist and to confront the attitudes that foster the social exclusion that leads to poverty and homelessness. Within our limited resources we support and accommodate people who are homeless, who have previously experienced homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. However, people do sleep rough in Galway and sleep rough because there is a lack of appropriate services to support them. Galway Simon Community will continue to work towards the development of such services. We do this by working with other statutory and voluntary agencies, and by our work with homeless people themselves, who give us unique insights and teach us valuable lessons about the structural and societal changes needed.