More Stories

Stuart lived with his mum as her carer when she was living with dementia. Soon after she died, Stuart was asked to leave the family home and found himself homeless.

As a single dad, life changed drastically when I became the full-time caregiver for my two young children. At first, we were living between friends’ and family members’ homes, but it became clear we needed a more stable solution. After contacting the Housing Executive, we ended up in a hotel—our “home” for five challenging weeks.

At 19, Sherry has overcome years in care and homelessness. After 10 months at Simon Community’s Mount Street Mews, she rebuilt her life and now lives independently. Sherry’s journey highlights the life-changing impact of support and community.

Growing up in foster care, I spent 14 years with my foster mum but over time, things changed. Our relationship became strained, conversations turned into arguments, and the house no longer felt like a place I could call home.

This International Women’s Day, we’re sharing Charmaine’s story her journey began in a volatile relationship, led her through addiction, loss, and homelessness, and brought her to a place of resilience and growth.

James became homeless after the breakdown of his long-term relationship. Despite having a steady, full-time job, as he was originally from England, he had no support-network here in NI. Moving back to his hometown was not an option for James, as his children, job and friends were here, he had built a life and didn’t want to lose that along with his home.

David didn’t know he was homeless until he arrived home to his flat and was unable to open the front door. Having spent time in numerous hostels over the years and fearful of returning to substance dependency again, David began having suicidal thoughts and reached out for help, finally finding a place at one of Simon Community’s accommodation projects.

Kirsty became pregnant at 19, she was living in her family home sharing a bedroom with her two sisters. Her living circumstances were overwhelming – she was facing a mental health condition that was inducing stress in the overcrowded house and quickly realised that she was going to need more space to provide for her little girl. Kirsty made the choice to approach the Housing Executive for help with her situation. They accepted her as homeless, and she was offered a place in our Conway Court Family Hostel.

When studying electrical engineering at college in 2010, in his home country of Ethiopia, Eskander took part in a student protest to oppose the treatment of the Oromo people: a large minority ethnic group who have been subject to political oppression and state violence. The military arrived and opened fire on the protest group and arrested forty to fifty students – Eskander was one of those students. From there, and without his family’s knowledge, he was sent to an underground prison and was tortured.