Simon Week 2023 - Supports

On Support:

We need to see:
  • Resources to implement trauma informed care across homeless services.
  • Increased provision of low-threshold homeless-specific detox and recovery beds to deal with the demand for addiction treatment in the sector.[8]
  • Increased provision of accessible mental health care, including funding for counselling, suicide prevention supports and dual-diagnosis workers.
  • Respect frontline workers and restore pay parity.

In relation to Pay Parity

The work of the Simon Communities in Ireland is having a significant impact in preventing and resolving homelessness. Every community is committed to developing services further in line with government Policy (eg the National Housing First Implementation Strategy and the National Youth Homelessness Strategy), and to delivering many more homes in the coming years. Despite the efforts of all involved the numbers of people in Emergency Accommodation is higher than ever before across the country. We believe the number of people presenting to frontline services for help is going to continue to rise over the Winter months ahead.  The complexity of cases being deal with will also continue to increase. Anyone visiting Simon services in Ireland will be struck by the personal and vocational commitment of the staff. They will also appreciate that the work is specialised and challenging. The work funded through S39 is some of the most challenging, supporting large numbers of vulnerable people for whom a personal history of trauma, significant physical and mental health issues, addiction, and substance misuse have been compounded by their experience of homelessness. The success of frontline homeless services in supporting those experiencing these multiple traumas is very much dependent on retaining skilled and experienced staff. Organisations across the Section 39 sector, are calling on the Government to restore pay parity between public sector/Section 38 organisations and funding to enable us to restore the Haddington Road hours.  As a priority there is a need to ensure:
  • The restoration of pay parity.
  • Restoration of funding to allow for return to pre-Haddington Road working hours.
  • Inclusion of Section 39 as part of any future national pay agreements
  • Payment of Pandemic Recognition Payment to frontline workers in Homeless Services
The Simon Communities of Ireland fully endorse this position believing it to be both necessary and in line with the respect and regard due to those working on the frontline of the homelessness crisis and government to ensure that funding is secure for these critically important roles.
[8] The Dublin Simon detox service, for example, currently has an average waiting time of 56-70 days. Long waiting periods is detrimental to a person in addressing their addiction and can compound issues.