Board members of Sophia and Midlands Simon at a meeting in held in Sophia and MSC joint offices in Presentation House Athlone
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Front Row Left to Right: Stephanie Duffy (MSC Board Member) Mark Cooney (Chair of MSC) Denis Doherty (Chair of Sophia) and Eamonn Martin (Sophia Board Member and Co-Founder Sophia)
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Back Row; Tom Keady (MSC Board Member) Willie Burns (MSC Board Member) Gráinne Hilton (Sophia Board Member )Molly Buckley (MSC Board Member) Seamus Dooley (Sophia Board Member) Brian Cowen (MSC Board Member) P.O Keenan(MSC Board Member) Gerry Raleigh (MSC Board Member) Mary Doyle (MSC Board Member) and Tony O’Riordan (C.E.O of Sophia and MSC)
The Collaboration Agreement between both organisations has led to greater efficiencies through the sharing of resources and the sharing of costs.
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The post of C.E.O is a shared resource. The C.E.O of Sophia while being an employee of Sophia also carries out the duties of C.E.O of the Midlands Simon Community.
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Both organisations collaborate in the areas of creating new homes for people to progress out of homelessness.
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Shared office space in Athlone, kindly made available to Sophia by the Presentation Sisters.
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Joint partnership in developing the SMES Europa Best Practices in Homeless Services Manual.
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A Joint Working Group was established by both Boards with terms of reference approved by both organisations. This working group has the delegated authority to monitor the Collaboration Agreement and report to both Boards on the implementation of the agreement.
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Future of our partnership
In 2020 Sophia and Midlands SImonCommunity announced a landmark joint initiative in Tullamore Co Offaly to developed Clonaamore House as an enhanced center for the provision of supported accommodation for homeless people.
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The facility has been purchased by Sophia and will be managed by Midlands Simons Community. Under the terms of a landmark agreement Midlands Simon Community will operate the centre, with a team of qualified social care workers providing support on a 24/7 basis.
The centre will undergo refurbishment, the facility will provide professional supports for up to 17 people in need of bridging accommodation before securing long term accommodation.
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