For the last thirty five years, Alice Leahy has lived with and cared for homeless people, treating the disadvantaged of Dublin as a neighbour, a friend and human beings.

The classic Smokey song 'Living next door to Alice" - the band even performed it in the ballroom of her home town a long number of years ago - springs to mind when it comes to the special relationship Alice has with 'outsiders' forgotten by the system.

Whenever that song was rendered, an appreciative audience would inevitably roar back good naturedly posing the question who exactly was Alice. If that question was ever asked in this country's capital city the roar would be a deafening one from the homeless in the parks, on the banks of the canal, from the doorways and the cross section of society including solicitors, nurses, doctors, journalists, religious, sporting stars all of whom would have called on Trust for refuge over the years.

The likely response would reflect the phenomenal work of a woman who had reached out to vulnerable men and women on the margins of society for the last thirty five years with Trust and for many years before that through her work with Simon.

Because of Alice and her wonderful staff and group of volunteers, the homeless have had somewhere to go, somebody to listen to and somebody to trust.

Thirty five years ago Alice Leahy co-founded Trust and her inspirational leadership and determination to speak out against exclusion, against bureaucracy and against a system that prevents spending time with people that lies behind its success.

She believes that agencies set up by the system to provide for homeless were not doing so while Trust and other voluntary groups who were at the coalface and put the personal needs of people on the margins first were dismissed.

The Fethard woman is as passionate today about her role of 'speaking out' as she was in the seventies when she walked away from her safe pensionable job as a nurse.

She firmly believes that the capacity to make a difference is within everyone.