Simon Community saved 50 families from homelessness in 2016

A resource centre in Ballinasloe prevented more than 50 households from becoming homeless last year.

Galway Simon Community said its Ballinasloe service worked with some 177 households, including 58 families, in 2016. Some 52 of these households were prevented from becoming homeless.  That’s according to the charity’s annual report 2016, which was released this week, which reveals its workload increased by 70% in the year.

The charity, which works at the coalface of homelessness in Galway, worked with some 622 households last year across a wide range of services.

That compares to 366 the previous year.

Its two teams in the city and county – which deal directly with homeless prevention – combined to prevent some 219 households from becoming homeless last year.

The Community Support Team in the city worked with 334 households, including 85 families with children. Of these, some 152 households were prevented from becoming homeless.

“We believe that in order to reduce the number of people requiring emergency accommodation, we have to focus on preventative work. Getting to people early and helping to solve problems is, and will continue to be, a major part of our work,” said Bill Griffin, CEO of Galway Simon Community.

The Community Support Team and resource centre in Ballinasloe, “have both made an important contribution to preventing homelessness in the community by supporting those at risk,” said chairperson, Maureen Lynch.

The charity’s financial accounts reveal that it had income and expenditure of €4.4 million in 2016, an increase of about €400,000 compared with 2015.

Almost two thirds (60%) of funding of the charity is from the Health Service Executive, Galway City and County Councils, Túsla and Department of Environment.

More than a quarter (26%) of its funding came from fundraising (totalling €652,606, up by 23% compared with 2015) and the Galway Simon Community shops – increased turnover by 15% to €478,479 over the year.