Simon Brooke Award 2022 winner

Earlier in the year, Clúid announced a callout for submissions for the second annual Simon Brooke Award. Simon, pictured here, was our former Head of Policy. He sadly passed away in November 2019.

Simon was a longstanding advocate of social and affordable housing in Ireland. His passion for the sector and for the provision of high-quality, affordable, secure homes for individuals and families across the country was borne out in his work over many decades.

It was on this basis that the ‘Simon Brooke Award’ was created, to offer the award winner a chance to gain more experience in their chosen topic. This year’s award included a placement with the Mayo Women’s Support Services, a domestic violence charity. Award applicants submitted an essay on the intersection between domestic violence and social housing in Ireland.

We are very pleased to announce the winner of the second annual Simon Brooke Award – Sarah Kennedy, who works with the Housing Agency. Sarah’s essay was selected from a number of entries by a working group comprising of Clúid staff and former colleagues of Simon’s in different organisations and academic institutions. Congratulations to Sarah for an insightful and informative essay. Sarah’s submission is titled ‘The Housed Homeless: The role of housing policy in supporting victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)‘. Click here to read the submission.

Sarah recently undertook a placement at the Mayo Women’s Support Services, where she had an opportunity gain first-hand experience and insight into the invaluable work of the organisation. Sarah will report back at the annual Simon Brooke Lecture. Warmest congratulations to Sarah on her award, and our thanks to all the applicants for their thought-provoking and interesting submissions.