Latest news with #SimonCommunity
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow's Piece to sell £1 sandwiches to celebrate birthday
The Glasgow chain's Byres Road café will be selling all of their pieces for just £1 from 12pm on Wednesday, July 23. All proceeds will be donated to charity the Simon Community, who work support those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. READ NEXT: Coffee shop to close and reopen as American-style diner In a post shared on Instagram, bosses wrote: "To celebrate our 17th birthday, on July 23 from noon till we sell out/have a mild breakdown, we are flinging open our shutters at Byres Road and selling all our pieces for one pound." They added: "If yer no fast yer last, if yer no there yer square etc." The event will only take place at Piece on Byres Road, and there will be no delivery or click and collect from the store. Other shops will be open as usual.
The Journal
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Just 32 homes eligible for rent assistance payments in Ireland on market in June
JUST 32 PROPERTIES where tenants can receive assistance payments were made available across 16 separate areas in June, according to a survey of the housing market. Homelessness charity the Simon Communities of Ireland sought to tally the number of properties on the rental market where tenants could avail of the housing assistance payment (HAP) scheme. HAP subsidises rents on behalf of tenants by providing a portion of the cost to landlords on behalf of low-income tenants. Only 32 out of 978 properties in 16 areas met the costs within the discretionary rate for the scheme, the Simon Community said. Advertisement In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate; this is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country. The Simon Community's latest 'Locked Out of the Market' report notes large reductions in eligible properties in Dublin. Just nine properties fell within possibly eligible rent rates in north Dublin city and two properties were identified in Dublin city centre – a 44% and 50% reduction in the number of eligible homes, respectively. There were no eligible properties in Waterford city, Cork city and suburbs, Portlaoise, Limerick city, Athlone, Co Leitrim and Sligo town. Ber Grogan, head of Simon, said the results of its survey 'must act as a wake-up call' for politicians. 'We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to HAP rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness,' Grogan said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Glasgow firm tackles 200-mile challenge to help homeless
A Glasgow property consultancy is taking on a 200-mile fundraising challenge in aid of a charity helping homeless people. Fisher German is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a 'Big 25' charity initiative, aiming to raise at least £25,000 for 25 chosen charities. They plan to achieve this by travelling between the firm's 25 UK office locations without using motorised transport. Any donations up to £25,000 from supporters will be match-funded by Fisher German, potentially raising £50,000 in total. Read more: Restaurant named among Scotland's best at major awards ceremony Road outside major Glasgow hospital closed amid emergency incident Former Birmingham City star responds to Kyogo transfer links Anyone wishing to donate should visit Fisher German's GiveWheel link at The firm's Glasgow office on St Vincent Street will receive the baton from Doncaster and cover 204 miles by walking and cycling to Newcastle. The Glasgow team opted to support Simon Community Scotland, a charity assisting homeless people in the city, including providing advice on getting a job or combating addiction. The charity was selected after associate partner Ralph Gurevitz's encounter with a homeless woman near their office. Mr Gurevitz said: 'I had left something at the office one day, so I went back that evening with my daughter and saw the woman in the doorway of a nearby building. 'It was a freezing evening, so we thought we should get her some hot food. We visited a McDonalds and got her a meal and a hot chocolate. She was very grateful to us for thinking of her. 'We asked her if she needed any further help or if she needed taking anywhere. She politely declined, so we left her be. "I saw her again a little while later and got her food for a second time and wondered if any organisations could help her. "My wife told me about Simon Community Scotland, who help homeless people in Glasgow and the rest of the country. "When the Big 25 challenge came along and we were thinking of charities to support, Simon Community Scotland just made sense to us. "The work they do for people who have fallen on hard times in Glasgow is amazing." Fisher German's Glasgow team began their journey after a bagpiper played a fanfare. Their route will take them through Falkirk, Kirkintilloch, Edinburgh, Dunbar, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and Bamburgh, before concluding in Newcastle on June 25. Marie McShane, relationships and partnerships manager at Simon Community Scotland, said: "Any funds raised will help us provide safe places, support, and hope to many people in our community who desperately need this. "Amidst the cost-of-living crisis and housing emergency, more people than ever before are at risk of homelessness.'
The Journal
09-06-2025
- The Journal
A 26-year-old man has begun a first-of-its-kind swim around Ireland (100km down, 1,500km to go)
TEN DAYS SINCE Daragh Morgan began his swim around Ireland's coastline, he is now 105km in. Having begun the challenge to swim the 1,600km that encompass Ireland's coastline on 31 May, the 26-year-old is attempting the world's first tidal-assisted swim around Ireland in support of both the Simon Community and RNLI. The Dublin-born man hopes to complete the challenge in four months. Speaking to The Journal , Morgan said that he has been training for the momentous swim over the past five years. Having always been around the sea growing up, he had the idea to undertake the coastline swim several years ago. He has spent the last number of months intensely preparing for what is roughly six hours of swimming per day to cover between 10 to 14 kilometres, when permitted. He and his small crew set off from Galway, where he has lived for the past seven years, and have since travelled through the Aran Islands and past Clifden. Swim Éire / Instagram Swim Éire / Instagram / Instagram The swim is incredibly dependent on the weather, Morgan explained, speaking on a day off from the water due to inclement conditions. He alongside the rest of the three-strong crew, who are following alongside in a small fishing boat, have been 'roughing it' as they undertake the challenge. Advertisement As they move along the coastline, they have taken to staying with friends and camping. 'We're doing it kind of a different way and but it's working,' he said. 'We're coming back to a kind of base most of the days, gearing up, getting the boat ready, going, doing the swims, and coming back, and then getting ready for the next day if it's permitted.' Morgan and his crew hope that the swim, titled Swim Éire , will raise valuable funds for both the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Simon Community. They chose the homeless charity as they believe housing to be a 'basic right' and that it is a rising issue in Ireland. Funds raised will firstly go towards supporting the swim, such as equipment needed and operational costs, and any funds beyond that will be split between the two charities. The team are hoping to raise €55,000 . 'A massive strong point of it is we have people who really know the area, who are so passionate about the area. I think for me, one of the main things that this swim is really showcasing is the passion and love of the people in area,' he said, highlighting areas in Galway such as Conamara. 'This has been in progress for so long, and it's just brilliant that we can actually see miles on the clock and the needle moving forward,' he said. You can follow along with Swim Éire here . Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Glasgow Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
More than 450 Glasgow homeless refused hotel room in a month
Between April 1 and May 1, on 456 occasions, people were turned away when they said they needed somewhere to stay that night. The council said it happens when there are no spaces available, and it is seeking extra resources to deal with the housing emergency. READ NEXT:Glasgow's drug consumption centre is working says health secretary Figures also show almost 100 people have been found rough sleeping this year. The housing emergency has led to huge demand for homeless accommodation and the latest count saw 1972 people in hotels and B&Bs in the city. Of those, 1417 were people with refugee status having been granted leave to remain in the UK. There were 314 women also living in the hotels and B&Bs and 71 families. The number of people who reported sleeping rough before they made their homelessness application in the first five months of the year was 433. The Simon Community, which conducts counts of rough sleepers, said it found 97 people sleeping rough. The Glasgow Times has been running the End the Homeless Hotel Shame campaign, highlighting the conditions people are subject in some of the 40 hotels used by the council. The latest FOI revealed the hotel owners were paid £4.1m in the month of April alone. The figures were revealed to the Scottish Tenants Organisation by Glasgow City Council under Freedom of Information. READ NEXT:'Don't blame us': Taxis hit back in Glasgow city centre transport row Sean Clerkin, campaign co-ordinator, said: 'The very high numbers of those sleeping rough on the streets of Glasgow is testament to the housing and homeless emergency that has engulfed the city of Glasgow. "Even more alarming is the fact that Glasgow City Council has illegally refused accommodation to over 450 people in only four weeks recently is completely unacceptable. 'The rising costs of homelessness for the Council in paying over £4m to private hotel operators in one month recently if projected for 12 months will mean paying out nearly £50 million over the next year. This is also unacceptable. 'The Scottish Government has to give Glasgow City Council much more money to build tens of thousands of social rented homes to eradicate homelessness as the current budget for 2025/26 at just over £115 million is lower than the affordable housing budget for Glasgow in 2021/22. 'In addition, the British Government has to give Glasgow additional monies to properly house refugees in the city. 'We need action now not more words that mean nothing. A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: 'We're duty bound to find and provide emergency accommodation to those affected by homelessness. Unfortunately, the increasing demand for homeless accommodation in Glasgow means there are times when we haven't been able to do so. 'This happens when there is no accommodation available despite operating in more than 40 hotels across the city to accommodate those who we have a confirmed duty for. 'There is no quick alternative. We are in continual dialogue with both Governments about these challenges and to seek the additional resources necessary to address the challenges we are facing. 'We continue to work with a range of partners to expand emergency accommodation that will provide an alternative to bed and breakfast type accommodation.'
