How to donate to homeless charities in Ireland

Over 12,000 people in Ireland are homeless

More than 12,000 people in Ireland were accessing emergency accommodation in June 2023 according to the government’s monthly homeless report.

The report showed that there was a 24% increase between April and June 2023 of families presenting at homeless services. The two most common reasons people cited for becoming homeless were relationship breakdown / family circumstance and Notice of Termination from a landlord.

Homelessness can be described as people sleeping rough, sofa-surfing, living in hostels or in temporary supported accommodation.

How to pick a homeless charity to support

There are many homeless charities in Ireland doing fantastic work to help people without a home, from hyper-local charities that help people in their communities, to national charities that support people all over the country.

You can find a charity by searching the Irish Register of Charities or by searching on GoFundMe.

Big, national charities include St Vincent De Paul and Focus Ireland.

A good starting point when considering who to donate to is by looking at the work charities do, how efficiently they use donations and how easy they are to donate to.

Five Irish homeless charities you can support

Focus Ireland

Focus ​​Ireland originally opened its doors in Dublin in 1985 but since then it has gone on to offer services across Ireland including in Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork, Sligo and Limerick. Since the beginning, Focus Ireland’s services have continued to grow and our research and advocacy work ensures that the rights of people who are homeless remain on the political agenda.

Depaul

Founed in 2002 Depaul helps people who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness. They help people escape the spiral of homelessness and rebuild their lives.

Depaul’s 5 main areas of service provision are 

• Prevention
• Families & Young People
• High Support Accommodation
• Health & Rehabilitation
• Housing

Good Shepherd Cork

The Good Shepherd Cork helps women and children who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. They work to address the root causes of homelessness and social exclusion and aim to break the cycle of homelessness through generations.

Peter McVerry Trust

Peter McVerry Trust is a national charity that helps homeless people and people who engage in substance misuse which can lead to homelessness.

The charity provides low-threshold entry services, primarily to younger people and vulnerable adults with complex needs, and offers pathways out of homelessness based on the principles of the Housing First model.

Simon Communities of Ireland

The Simon Communities of Ireland are a network of independent communities across the country that provide homeless, housing and treatment services to people facing the trauma and stress of homelessness. The charity has been operating for 50 years and works with local communities to end long term homelessness.

Ways you can donate

From making a single donation, donating multiple times in a year or setting up a recurring donation there’s plenty of ways for you to donate. 

It doesn’t have to be something you commit to and there are plenty of options.

Financial donations

You can make a single or recurring donation online safely. 

Making a monetary donation online is an easy way to directly give to a cause you want to donate to. Most charities will offer the option of donating as a one-off through their website, or setting up a repeat donation that comes out monthly. 

Material donations

You can also donate physical items. 

This can include unwanted clothes or books, furniture or items you don’t use any more. 

Unwanted items can be donated to charity shops and clothes can go to clothing banks. 

The recycling and resale of these clothes helps charities to operate and offer support to people. 

Volunteer

Another way you can help is by offering your time. 

You can support homeless charities volunteering for a wide variety of roles. 

This can be physically in shops but can also stretch to volunteering to do administrative services and campaigns. 

The Dublin Simon community  is a great example of how you can volunteer your time and deliver talks in local communities. 

Create a fundraiser

You can also take steps to help raise money for charity. 

By starting a fundraising campaign, you can raise money for important causes and spread awareness about the charity. 

You could take on a challenge to encourage people to raise money or detail why the cause is so important to you. 

Funds are delivered automatically and 100% of Gift Aid goes directly to charity.

Next steps if you want to support homeless charities

Now you’re familiar with all the ways you can offer support, the next step is to consider what works best for you. 

A good first step can be to decide what charity you’d like to support. You can research the different charities and see which one suits you best.

Next, you can think about how best you can offer support. This can be through your time, physical donations or financially. Anything you can do will help. 

Or you could start your own fundraiser and understand more about how to start a charity fundraiser on GoFundMe.