Heartbreak of children wishing for a home

Initiative to tackle food poverty

A TUAM native leading fundraising efforts for Midwest Simon Community believes one solution cannot eradicate an issue like homelessness.

Joanne Tierney, who recently took up the role of Head of Fundraising with the homeless charity, argues that tackling homelessness requires more than providing emergency accommodation.

Having spent more than 13 years working across the charity sector, Joanne has seen first-hand the challenges faced by some of society’s most vulnerable people.

However, her understanding of homelessness has evolved significantly since taking up her role with Midwest Simon Community two months ago.

“I have learned that homelessness is about significantly more than the absence of a roof over one’s head,” she said.

“It’s about a person's life and everything that has happened to them before they present to a service. There are people behind the statistics. There are lives that matter.”

According to the report published by the Department of Housing, 17,885 people were living in emergency accommodations across Ireland in August. Over 32 per cent of these 5,830 are children under the age of 18 years.

A new mother herself, Joanne believes homelessness in Ireland can be resolved through a combination of prevention measures, increased housing supply and stronger support services.

“A solution is to prevent homelessness before it happens. This can be done by supporting people with financial resources, education and guidance before they reach a crisis point,” she emphasised.

She further commented that availability of affordable, permanent housing is central to any long-term solution.

“There needs to be more affordable permanent housing available to people. No person should be without a home, especially in Ireland that is quite a wealthy country.

“Those 17,885 people in emergency accommodations are the official figure that’s recorded, but that is not an accurate figure since there is hidden homelessness in Ireland as well,” she continued.

A law graduate from University of Galway (formerly National University of Ireland, Galway), Joanne started her career working for a local law firm in the county.

However, her career path took an unexpected turn towards the charity sector after she was made redundant during the recession of 2008-2009.

She accepted a position as Fundraising Manager with Galway Hospice while also completing a Master’s degree in Disability Law from University of Galway.

“I loved the job so much that I decided to completely forego my pursuit of a legal career,” she said.

“I am an advocate and champion of people, and the not-for-profit sector allows me to support people to the best of my ability.”

In the following years, she went on to hold a senior fundraising role with Galway Hospice, her first management role was at Galway Rape Crisis Centre and later the she worked with the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the University of Limerick, where she helped develop fundraising functions and build support for the organisation’s work.

All these roles presented with unique learnings and challenges for Joanne. They taught her life lessons that she carries to her new role that she was offered only eight-weeks postpartum.

“What we do at Midwest Simon Community is a big part of who I am. It's worth it because it matters to me,” she said.

This new role has challenged her perception of homelessness, and she has discovered how it can have different faces other than those visible on city streets.

“We have professionals who get up in the morning, go to work, take care of other people and then they come home to us because they are themselves experiencing homelessness.”

Sharing a recent experience from one her visits to the organisation’s family service centre, she told The Tuam Herald that a child wishing for a home on his birthday was “beyond heartbreaking” for her.

“That’s the reality for many other children living and growing in emergency accommodations,” she added.

Midwest Simon Community currently supports ten families with 19 children between the ages of six months to 14 years.

In 2025, the charity supported almost 6,000 people experiencing homelessness including individuals, young families and children in Limerick, Ennis and North Tipperary.

While immediate accommodation remains critical, Joanne believes long-term solutions should also focus on helping people build stability and independence.

She is particularly excited about a planned initiative by Midwest Simon Community called the Social Grocery Project, which aims to tackle food poverty in a more sustainable and dignified way.

She described it as first-of-its-kind model in Ireland, a community store that would move beyond the current emergency food aid model by allowing people to choose food that suits their own dietary requirements, preferences and cultural backgrounds.

“It centres around the client, their dignity, their autonomy and their independence,” emphasised Joanne.

The planned facility would also include cooking stations, budgeting education, wellbeing supports and community services designed to address some of the underlying causes of poverty and financial hardship.

The charity hopes the initiative can become a model for addressing food poverty not only in the Midwest but in other parts of the country as well.

“Homelessness is not a one-solution ticks-all-boxes issue,” she added.

As the organisation prepares to mark 20 years of service next year,

Joanne is determined to share the stories of people being supported by the charity and position Midwest Simon Community as the charity in the Midwest region that individuals and corporates would want to work and partner with.

“A core part of my vision together with my colleagues is to bring us out of the shadows into being seen for the work we do,” she said.

While Joanne is busy supporting the people out there, her ambitions and dreams are being supported by her loved ones who have always encouraged her to follow her heart.

She said that her mother Vera Tierney and fiancé Alvaro Ramirez have been her greatest supporters throughout her journey.

“I am ambitious and I secured the role, but I couldn’t have done it without my partner. My mother has been my earliest champion and both of them are my greatest supporters.

“It is also important that we all reach back and pull forward anyone who needs help and where I am currently standing professionally, those experiencing food poverty and homelessness are the ones who need that pull,” she concluded.

As a Tuam native, Joanne is also urging the members of this community to support the Midwest Simon Community in their upcoming Christmas Campaign.

“The Galway Simon Community would be geographically closer to you, but if anybody would like to reach out and support us, I would greatly appreciate that,” she said.