When was the Simon Community established?

The Simon Community was established by Anton Wallich-Clifford in London in 1963.   In his work with offenders and those on probation, Anton saw many people re-offending because they had nowhere to stay.  In setting up the first Simon Community in his own home, he aimed to draw public attention to the needs of homeless people and to develop an experimental approach to their care and support.

So how did Simon Community Northern Ireland come about?

A newspaper article written by a journalist called Eric Wilkinson prompted Simon Community's presence in Northern Ireland.  In 1971, Eric became aware of the level of rough sleeping in Belfast and through his newspaper article, asked the question,  “Why is there not a Simon Community in Northern Ireland?”

The lives of 18 men who were sleeping rough prompted the formation of Simon Community.  Our early years were ones of struggle, opposition from local communities and lack of finances.  But these apparent negatives were outweighed by a small group of volunteers who showed an amazing commitment to accepting the needs and dependencies of those who had been marginalised by our society. 

The 1970s

In many ways, the challenges of the early 70's remain the challenges of today.   The shelter that we provided for residents was at best basic, by today's standards. 

The first house established by Simon Community in Howard Street South had to be given up due to community opposition.  This, however, prompted our relocation to the Antrim Road, and since then, we have had a long-standing relationship with the North Belfast Community.

In our commitment to help those upon whom society had turned its back, we not only concerned ourselves with providing shelter for individuals, but also looked beyond the immediate need for a roof.  Some early initiatives included:

·        The establishment of a day centre which would provide companionship for homeless people.

·        A visiting service to people in their own accommodation.

·        A shelter for people barred from other hostels.

·        A soup run for people who were sleeping rough. 

The recognition that homelessness is more than providing a roof has stayed with the organisation throughout.

The 1980s

Towards the end of the 70's and into the 80's, we saw expansion of our services, developing a house specifically for the needs of older homeless people.  This house is now our dedicated Young Person's Unit.

The 1980's saw the development of our relationships with housing associations.  The establishment of Housing Associations, along with the introduction of the Action Community Employment Scheme and the responsibility for homelessness being transferred to the Housing Executive, allowed Simon Community to develop within Belfast and to consider developments in regional areas—with Larne being our first regional project.

The 1990s

By the end of the 90's, Simon Community was managing 300 bed spaces in 20 projects throughout Northern Ireland.  As well as this significant achievement, the organisation began to more formally address other needs.  The development of our primary prevention programme through our education work, the establishment of training and employment programmes for residents, opening the first Foyer in Ireland and our partnership with the Housing Executive and the private sector in relation to the Rent Guarantee Scheme, are all clear examples of this. 

Into the 21^st Century

As we move into the 21^st Century the challenges of homelessness remain in an ever-changing world.   The concept of homelessness – as more than not having a roof – has heralded the development of a range of programmes by Simon Community to break the cycle of homelessness, addressing needs other than the lack of housing.   These include health programmes to address alcohol management, physical well being and looking at promoting positive mental health within our resident group.   Examples of these include group work on teenage pregnancy and parenthood, and healthy eating.

Devolution in the late 1990s brought with it a range of new opportunities, not least getting to know the 108 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and ways of working with them through the development of our Public Affairs Strategy.   Our strategy document, 'Agenda for Action', was launched in May 2001, and was successful in tackling a range of policy issues.  In November 2003 a subsequent campaigning document 'Addressing Homelessness' provided the organisation with a platform for lobbying on a range of policy issues.

Simon Community considers that action by our politicians is crucial in bringing about change for homeless people.  We have recently seen the introduction of significant developments in the policy arena that have had considerable implications for our residents.  Supporting People legislation has meant that funding has become secure in the medium term for our projects whilst the Northern Ireland Housing Executive's Homelessness Strategy offers a framework by which the whole sector can address homelessness.  Simon Community has also widened its sphere of activities to work with homeless families and will open its first hostel for families in West Belfast in autumn 2005.

The new century has shown that homelessness continues to increase in Northern Ireland despite a renewed effort by all agencies.  Simon Community will attempt to meet these challenges by working with our partners to address the complex needs of individuals who are homeless.

The Promoting Social Inclusion initiative offers hope that a multi-agency joined up approach to homelessness can be achieved and make a meaningful difference to the problem in Northern Ireland.