The Simon Community will be spreading some festive cheer this Christmas with carol performances by Lucan Gospel Choir, Pitch Perfect, Trinity Bells, Fingal Gospel Choir and more on Grafton Street on the Friday December 16 and outside Clery's, O'Connell Street on Saturday the December 17.
There will also be a carolathon on Christmas Eve with the location yet to be announced. Members of the public are encouraged to come and donate to the cause via buckets, tap-to-donate machines or wristbands with a scannable donation chip.
The charity says that one of the key features this year is the "increased capacity" to take donations via tapping whether it's a small or large amount and they can ensure that each of these donations is "safe and secure."
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If you are unable to attend these events in person then you can still donate by purchasing the charity's album 'The Busk', which was recorded over two nights in St Patrick's Cathedral in December 2021. Bono, The Frames, Damien Rice, Lisa O'Neill are just some of the voices you can expect to hear on it.
Priced at €27.95, the album is available to buy now from thebuskrecord.com and in-store from Golden Discs. Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community says "the sales of this record will fund the continuation of our services and serve as a glimmer of hope to the over 6,000 people relying on our help”.
Catherine adds that “for the sixth month in a row, we have reached the scandalous milestone of the highest number of people ever recorded in homelessness in the capital," and "among this group is a growing cohort of older people presenting to emergency accommodation services."
Project Worker Adrian O’Reilly from Dublin Simon Community’s Tenancy Information & Support Service says that due to a number of landlords leaving the housing market their "prevention services have seen a significant increase in calls from older people, many of whom may have lived at their property for 20 years or more."
“What’s happening now is many landlords are either selling or passing properties down to children, which is up-ending a lot of these long-standing tenancies," he added.
There is also a 'Simon Giving Tree' at Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, where members of the public can donate to the charity with tap-to-donate services.
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