Simon Community NI Newry Project recently participated in a Homelessness Awareness Day organised by the Magnet Centre in Newry.
Youth volunteers from the Magnet Centre hoping to raise awareness of homelessness in the local area joined forces with Simon Community NI staff and clients from the Newry Project who took to the streets to engage with the local community.
The team from Simon Community NI gave out information leaflets, gathered email addresses from people who wanted to be kept informed of homeless issues in the future, and simply chatted to as many people as they could in a day!
The Magnet Centre had organised ‘donation points’ in local food shops to allow people to provide food and other essentials for people experiencing homelessness in Newry. There was a huge response to this from people living in the area and the subsequent donations were shared between local homeless charities including Simon Community NI and Salvation Army.
The day was a huge success with fantastic involvement from the local community and the charities involved. Simon Community NI staff and clients from the Newry Project had a great time and the weather even worked in their favour for most of the day!