A total of 536 people had to be turned away from the Cork Simon emergency shelter on 1,817 occasions last year because the shelter was full.

This is just one of the revealing statistics in the Cork Simon Annual report for 2007 which was launched earlier this week.

The report details the volume of people who accessed the Simon Community's services in Cork in 2007 and reveals that 1,421 different people used one or more of Cork Simon's projects and service. A total of 447 people used the emergency shelter in 2007, 23 per cent of which were aged 18-26 years. A further 949 people used the day centre services in the same year which averages at 42 people per day.

The Outreach Team, targeting people sleeping rough or living in unsuitable accommodation, supported 507 people; 102 people were accommodated at the cold weather shelter over the Christmas / New Year period; 38 people lived in at Cork Simon's four High Support Residential houses and the Housing Plus team supported 88 people in Cork Simon flats, private rented accommodation and City Council housing.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Cork Simon Director Colette Kelleher said that while much was achieved against the odds, there are gaps in existing services. "We had very little hope to offer people who had to stay long term in our emergency shelter because they had nowhere else to go - people who are ready to move but have nowhere to call home. Our emergency shelter was full every night, which meant we had to turn away over 500 people who needed emergency accommodation. These are people whose needs we couldn't meet."

She said that the Government commitments made last December to protect poor and vulnerable people must now be backed up with adequate resources that match the phenomenal support they get in Cork so that those people whose needs Cork Simon couldn't meet are protected.

Senator Dan Boyle, who launched the report added, "The Government response to homelessness, which has seen increased resources in recent years, needs to be sustained. The imminent publication of the homelessness strategy will hopefully provide a context in which support for homelessness can be maintained and improved, irrespective of changing economic circumstances."

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