Dublin Simon Community says 71% of it’s rough sleeping interventions last year were prompted by alerts from the public.
People can report a rough sleeper via dublinhomeless.ie and staff from Dublin Simon Community will go to the location to offer support.
The organisation says information from the public is hugely valuable during the pandemic as many rough sleepers have moved location.
The team are more reliant on these alerts than ever before, due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on rough sleeping behaviour.
Head of Emergency Services at Dublin Simon Community, Claire McSweeney said
“The situation on the streets has changed significantly over the last six months. What were once some of the most popular areas for rough sleeping now lie empty, as the team are increasingly finding people in less expected and less central areas. Throughout this period, alerts from the public have been absolutely invaluable in locating and supporting people who are rough sleeping.
“It’s great to see so many people looking out for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities – we get regular alerts from people all over Dublin, and each one is followed up on. The team cover the whole of the greater Dublin region and are especially grateful for those reporting people who are sleeping rough outside of the city area. Our message to the public is to keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s helping to save lives.”
Dublin Outreach is an Assertive Engagement Outreach Team provided by Dublin Simon Community in partnership with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. Dublin Outreach’s role is to work with people who are rough sleeping, in particular those entrenched in rough sleeping who find it more difficult to access services, and support them into the accommodation most suited to their needs. This includes supporting people to complete a homeless assessment with their Local Authority and navigate the systems in place.
The Dublin Outreach Team are out on the streets of Dublin from 7am – 1am Monday -Friday and 9am – 1am Saturday & Sunday. If you see a person sleeping rough in the city or suburbs of Dublin, please contact the Dublin Outreach team on 01 872 0185, or “report a rough sleeper” at https://www.homelessdublin.ie/homeless/i-am-rough-sleeping/report-rough-sleeper. The Dublin Outreach team will respond to reports and typically make contact within two hours.
