North West Simon Community's 'thank you' to McElhinney's ahead of annual Sleep Out

The North West Simon Community have expressed their gratitude to McElhinney's ahead of their annual charity 'Sleep Out'.

The Team at McElhinney's, Ballybofey, are participating in their annual Sleep Out tonight, Saturday, with all of the funds going directly to The North West Simon Community. Thus far over €8,000 has been raised.

“On behalf of the North West Simon Community and clients, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Sandra Devenney and her fabulous team at McElhinneys for organising their annual 'Sleep Out' tonight in aid of the North West Simon Community,” a spokesperson for the North West Simon Community said.

“Best of luck and thank you for putting the spotlight on the work and services provided by the North West Simon Community at a time when we need it most.” You can donate to the fundraiser by cliking the icon below

North West Simon Community works to prevent and resolve homelessness in counties Donegal, Sligo, and Leitrim, where they own 21 houses in Donegal and Leitrim purchased using the Government’s Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) for the provision of social housing to tenants from the local authority housing lists. In 2022, North West Simon Community provided secure housing for 23 households comprised of three couples with 17 children, seven single women, and 13 single men.

In 2022, they were contacted by 239 households – comprising 292 and 244 Child Dependents – seeking our assistance with problems that seemed likely to lead to homelessness. Happily, North West Simon Community were able to help many of these individuals and families improve their circumstances

As of the end of December 2022, 88 households were living in private rented accommodation; 29 households have moved into LA Social Housing; 10 are in housing provided by Approved Housing Bodies and three people are residing in Specialist Services.

Yet, 116 households continued to need their assistance at the beginning of 2023, while new households who need their support make contact every week.

North West Simon Community believes the solution to homelessness is a home. An affordable and secure tenancy allows an individual or family the time and space to focus on day-to-day life and opens up numerous possibilities that cannot be considered when a person doesn’t know where they will sleep tonight.