Tag Archives: Mid West Simon

Mid West Simon has launched an emergency food appeal after it emerged that some families in Ennis and Kilrush were struggling to put food on the table. The charity told The Clare Champion that they “urgently need support in order to maintain our vital food banks in Ennis and Kilrush for families under severe financial pressure”. Mid West Simon general manager, Jackie Bonfield, said people who cannot pay for food are sometimes too embarrassed to ask for help. “It is difficult to understand how food poverty can be experienced by families or individuals in Clare but the facts are so clear. People are suffering behind closed doors and are often too ashamed to ask for help. Low incomes, high rents, high mortgage payments and increasing utility bills are forcing people to choose between food and bills,” she revealed. The most recent CSO statistics indicate that over 15% of the population is at risk of poverty, with more than 8% living …

SINCE establishing a base in Kilrush earlier this year, Mid West Simon has come across what it describes as serious addiction issues, social problems and housing concerns in the town. Tracey Reddy, accommodation team leader with Mid West Simon, which covers Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, said a lack of services in the town is a hindrance to people looking for help. Highlighting the organisation’s three-day 72km Simon’s Way fundraising trek across Clare on the weekend of September 25 to 27, Tracey noted the fundraising sleep-out held in Kilrush GAA field last year was very well supported by people in the town. In her role, Tracey tries to help people to cope if they are rendered homeless or are under threat of losing a place in which to live. “My job is to oversee the accommodation of Mid West Simon services. It is everything from supporting people who are living in our units, to meeting people who find themselves either …

IN an effort to raise awareness of the escalating threat of homeless in the region, the Mid West Simon Community held a sleep out at Kilrush GAA Club last Friday night. Thirty five people took part by sleeping in a box, which formerly held a fridge or a washing machine, while some opted to sleep in an army-style tent. Each participant has until the end of October to raise €250 for the Mid West Simon Community. While organisers were grateful to everyone who raised money, Geraldine Lambert, chairperson of Board of Directors of Mid West Simon Community, stressed that increasing awareness of the spectre of homelessness is equally important. “Just as important is raising the awareness. It could be a neighbour, a friend or a work colleague. Somebody that you wouldn’t expect to be going throught a trauma. It’s good to be able to say to them ‘why don’t you give Mid West Simon a ring and see if you …