# Simon Community

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The **Simon Community** is a [charity](/source/Charitable_organization) which helps [homeless](/source/Homeless) people, taking its name from [Simon of Cyrene](/source/Simon_of_Cyrene) (hence sometimes known as the **Cyreneans**).[1] It was founded in 1963 by Anton Wallich-Clifford,[2] who had encountered many homeless people while working for the [Probation Service](/source/Probation_Service) at [Bow Street Magistrates' Court](/source/Bow_Street_Magistrates'_Court) in [London](/source/London), England. Wallich-Clifford was influenced by the work of [Dorothy Day](/source/Dorothy_Day) and her [Catholic Worker Movement](/source/Catholic_Worker_Movement) in the [United States](/source/United_States), and his original vision was to establish a farm and community in [Sussex](/source/Sussex). However, local protests prevented this, and the organisation developed as a chain of houses and [night shelters](/source/Night_shelter) run by local volunteers. The Simon Community was co-founded by political activist [Eddie Linden](/source/Eddie_Linden).[3]

A [trust](/source/Trust_(law)) was established to manage the affairs of the charity, but its administration was weak.[4] Attempts were made to transform the organisation into a decentralised federation of homelessness bodies: the Cyrenian Federation and Homes for Homeless People.[1]

Anton Wallich-Clifford died in 1978, but the original community continues where it is based and active in [London](/source/London).[4]

## Ireland

In Ireland, the Simon Communities were founded by a group of [Trinity College](/source/Trinity_College,_Dublin) and [University College Dublin](/source/University_College_Dublin) students in 1969.[5] It now operates all over Ireland, but particularly in [Cork](/source/Cork_(city)), [Dublin](/source/Dublin), [Dundalk](/source/Dundalk), and [Galway](/source/Galway).[6] These organisations partly (about 50%) fund themselves by hosting a number of charity initiatives and events such as the [Dublin Fun Run](/source/Dublin_Fun_Run).[7] The remainder of funding comes from service contracts with government to provide homeless housing. In 2009, Dublin Simon celebrated its 40th anniversary.[8]

## See also

- [St Mungo's](/source/St_Mungo's_(charity)) – a large charity for the homeless founded by a Simon Community volunteer.
- [Museum of Homelessness](/source/Museum_of_Homelessness)

## References

1. ["Why one charity broke away from the Cyrenians"](http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/why-one-charity-broke-away-cyrenians/management/article/1352556). *Third Sector*. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2017.

1. ["About Simon"](https://www.simoncommunity.org.uk/about/). The Simon Community. Retrieved 10 April 2026.

1. Cooney, John (13 May 2015). ["Happy 80th birthday, Eddie Linden, poet, pacifist and Catholic atheist"](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/happy-80th-birthday-eddie-linden-poet-pacifist-and-catholic-atheist-1.2211208). *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)*. Retrieved 18 March 2018.

1. Courtney, Roger (2002), "The Simon Community", *Strategic Management for Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations*, [Routledge](/source/Routledge), pp. 246–254, ISBN 978-0415250238

1. ["A Living History"](http://www.simon.ie/AboutUs/ALivingHistory.aspx). Simon Communities in Ireland. Retrieved 22 April 2017.

1. ["About Simon"](http://www.simon.ie/AboutUs/SimoninIreland.aspx). Simon Communities in Ireland. Retrieved 22 April 2017.

1. ["Dublin Simon Fun Run"](https://www.dubsimon.ie/funrun/FunRunRegistration.aspx?eventid=1). Dublin Simon Community. Retrieved 6 December 2012.

1. RTÉ (2009), ["Dublin Simon Community 40th Anniversary"](http://www.dubsimon.ie/), Dublin Simon Community

## External links

- [The Simon Community](http://www.simoncommunity.org.uk/), UK
- [Simon Communities of Ireland](http://www.simon.ie/)
- ["Chapter 46: Simon"](http://www.coughtrey.me.uk/simon.htm). Victor Thomas Coughtrey. 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- [Simon Community Northern Ireland](http://www.simoncommunity.org/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Simon Community](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Community) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Community?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.