08 June 2017

Dublin Chamber has announced a two year charity partnership with Dublin Simon Community. The partnership has evolved from the common purpose shared by both organisations of making Dublin the best it can be for its citizens, as the country experiences the worst housing and homeless crisis the city has arguably ever faced.

 

Dublin Chamber represents the interests of all businesses in the greater Dublin area and is the leading business organisation in Dublin. Together with Dublin Simon Community, which works to prevent and address homelessness not only in Dublin, but in Kildare, Wicklow, and Meath, the charity partnership aims to use the relationship between the two organisations to make a significant impact on the housing and homelessness crisis that is overwhelming the city. 
 

According to Dublin Simon Community, currently 73% of the homeless population are living in emergency accommodation across Dublin, and in April this year, a 35% increase was seen in the number of people sleeping on the streets.

 

While Dublin Chamber view the housing shortage as a priority issue for a thriving business community they also clearly see the homeless crisis with people struggling on the streets of Dublin. They view this whole issue as a shared problem and together they believe they can help to make Dublin a better place to live and work for everyone.

 

Interest in a partnership emerged when current members of Dublin Chamber of Commerce who already volunteer with Dublin Simon Community saw potential in the two organisations joining forces leading to more opportunities and more scope to support the charity’s work.

 

Commenting on the partnership, Mary Rose Burke, CEO of Dublin Chamber stated, “We deliberately choose Dublin Simon Community as our charity partner for this period because we both share the same priority for Dublin, which is housing. Housing is the biggest issue currently facing Dublin. We continually hear from our members that the biggest complaint they hear from their staff is the cost and availability of housing. We want to help change this. For us this partnership is about much more than just fundraising. We want to be involved in the community and work together towards building a better place to live and work in Dublin.  We have many initiatives planned for over the coming two years that we hope will make a lasting difference. We want to help create a sustainable solution, not just a quick fix.”

 

Sam McGuinness, CEO of the Dublin Simon Community stated, “It is very encouraging to see the business community putting their energy behind the homeless and housing crisis. We will work to make a real and positive impact in Dublin together. Dublin Simon Community are thrilled with the support from Dublin Chamber and we can already see the potential to make a difference from our future plans. We have limited resources for the huge challenges that we are facing on a daily basis and this support will be invaluable.”

 

For more information about Dublin Chamber visit http://www.dubchamber.ie/

 and for further information on Dublin Simon Community visit http://www.dubsimon.ie/.