SOS NI

What SOS NI does

SOS NI Ltd (operating as SOS Bus NI) is a Northern Ireland registered charity (NIC100247, company number NI061293) founded in 2007 and headquartered at Weavers Court Business Park, Belfast. It delivers street-based crisis intervention and welfare support on a free-of-charge basis to vulnerable individuals across Belfast, including victims of assault, people experiencing homelessness, those with suicidal thoughts, substance misuse victims, and lonely or isolated individuals. Operations are delivered through a fleet of 4 response mini-buses and 3 sixty-foot flexi buses staffed by 220 trained volunteers and 3 paid staff, running fixed shifts at Shaftsbury Square on Friday and Saturday nights (10pm–2:30am) and Monday–Friday daytime hours (2pm–6pm), supplemented by festival and event response teams.

The core service offering combines first aid, mental health intervention, suicide de-escalation, harm reduction, naloxone provision, signposting and referrals, shelter, and transport to A&E or safe places. Supporting programmes include a Signposting Service routing clients to addiction, mental health, sexual health, financial, and housing support; a Food and Provisions Response programme developed during COVID-19 in partnership with the Belfast Community Response Hub, James Street South, Loaf Catering and Forward South Partnership; and a Volunteer Programme recruiting community members aged 18+ through induction evenings and the BeCollective platform. Operations are deeply embedded with statutory partners including PSNI, NIAS, Belfast City Council, and the Drug Outreach Team, with mutual referral relationships with the Rowan Centre, Simon Community, The Welcome Centre, Engage with Age, St Vincent De Paul, and Forward South Partnership.

The organisation operates a non-commercial revenue model combining individual donations (JustGiving one-off and Direct Debit, Gift Aid), institutional grant funding (notably the Big Lottery Community Fund's 3-year Signposting and Volunteer Development project from Autumn 2019 and the Lightbody Foundation for a dedicated mental health hub), community fundraising events, and workplace charity partnerships. It has received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service and reports cumulative impact of 379,723 clients supported and over 16,232 crisis interventions since founding.

Name

SOS NI

Legal name

SOS NI Ltd

Website

https://sosbusni.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SOS NI is a Belfast-based registered charity operating SOS Bus NI, delivering free street-level crisis intervention, first aid, mental health support, and welfare services to vulnerable individuals in Belfast through 220 trained volunteers and a fleet of mobile welfare buses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crisis Intervention & Community Welfare Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Shelter, Camp Management & Non-Food Items (NFI) (BPAGAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Crisis intervention services
• Welfare support services
• Volunteer outreach
• Night-time economy support
• Community charity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations: The organization accepts one-off donations and regular Direct Debit donations via JustGiving platform. Cheque donations are also accepted.
2. Gift Aid: SOS NI can claim tax back on donations through the Gift Aid scheme at no extra cost to donors who pay income tax and/or capital gains tax.
3. Grant Funding: Funding received from institutional funders including Big Lottery Community Fund (People and Communities Programme) and Lightbody Foundation for specific projects such as Signposting and Volunteer Development and mental health training.
4. Fundraising Events: Community fundraising through events, workplace charity partnerships, challenge events, community group activities, and church/youth club events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SOS NI is a Northern Ireland registered charity that operates a volunteer-led street outreach and welfare service in Belfast city centre, providing crisis intervention, emotional support, and practical assistance to vulnerable individuals during the night-time economy. The charity runs the SOS Bus and a Signposting Service, offering food, drinks, blankets, harm-reduction supplies, and referrals to wider support services for people in distress or at risk on weekend nights.

Product overview

SOS NI operates a single unified service offering called SOS Bus NI, consisting of a fleet of 4 response mini-buses and 3 sixty-foot flexi buses staffed by trained volunteers. The core product provides crisis intervention and welfare support, including first aid, mental health intervention, suicide de-escalation, harm reduction, naloxone provision, and transport to safe places. Supporting services include a Signposting Service that directs vulnerable individuals to appropriate support organizations, a Food and Provisions Response program developed during COVID-19 for emergency food deliveries, and a Volunteer Program that recruits and trains community members. The organization works in partnership with emergency services, statutory services, and other charities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SOS Bus Service
• Signposting Service
• Food and Provisions Response
• Volunteer Training Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 379,723 clients supported since 2007
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Loaf CateringsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2020Provided 461 Christmas dinners and desserts delivered by SOS volunteers to vulnerable households in South Belfast.
• Belvoir Parish ChurchsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2020Partnership in Winter Community Poverty Relief delivering 189 fresh meals weekly to vulnerable individuals and families.
• James Street SouthsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2020Partnership in Food Poverty Relief Programme where restaurant chefs prepared meal boxes delivered by SOS volunteers to 152 vulnerable clients.
• Belfast Community Response HubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020Multi-agency response hub during Covid-19 delivering food parcels and provisions. Partners include Belfast City Council, Department of Communities, Red Cross, and other organisations.
• Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOS volunteers trained by PSNI in assault and crisis intervention. Volunteers respond to PSNI welfare calls and work in collaboration during night time economy operations.
• Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaboration allowing evidence of ability to mitigate aspects of crime and lower unnecessary hospital admissions.
• Belfast City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership working through multi-agency response to create safer streets and support vulnerable populations.
• Rowan CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOS volunteers trained by Rowan Centre in assault and crisis intervention techniques.
• Drug Outreach TeamsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHA-funded partner for referral of clients requiring drug support services.
• Forward South PartnershipsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferred vulnerable clients for food poverty relief programmes and generously donated positivity and wellbeing packs.
• St Vincent De PaulsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organisation referring vulnerable families and individuals for support services.
• Engage with AgesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organisation supporting isolated elderly individuals through referral to SOS services.
• The Rowan Sexual Assault Referral CentresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOS volunteers trained to provide referral support to the Rowan Centre for sexual assault victims.
• Simon CommunitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomeless and housing support partner for families and individuals at risk of homelessness.
• The Welcome CentresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaytime drop-in centre and outreach team partnership for homeless support services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• St Mungo's: Large UK charity providing street outreach, hostels and recovery housing across the South of England. Operates a much broader and more institutionalized version of the street-based crisis intervention model that SOS NI delivers in Belfast.
• Depaul UK: UK-wide charity supporting young people and adults experiencing homelessness through outreach, night-stop services and housing. Comparable to SOS NI in delivering street-based crisis support, but with multi-city national reach rather than a single-city focus.
• Crisis UK: National UK charity focused on homelessness, providing outreach, year-round services and campaigning. Overlaps with SOS NI in crisis intervention and welfare support but operates at significantly larger national scale with policy and research capability.

Others

• The Big Issue Foundation: Charitable arm of The Big Issue supporting vendors facing hardship, providing direct services to people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Adjacent rather than directly competitive; shares SOS NI's beneficiary population of vulnerable individuals in UK city centres.

Direct peers

• Simon Community Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland's largest homelessness charity, providing housing support, outreach and resettlement services. SOS NI lists Simon Community as a formal partner for homeless referrals, and both organizations serve overlapping vulnerable populations in Belfast.
• Street Pastors: UK-wide inter-denominational Christian volunteer network patrolling town and city centres at night to provide pastoral care, crisis support and signposting. Closely comparable model to SOS NI's night-time street welfare operations, differing mainly in faith-based framing.
• Street Angels Manchester: Manchester-based volunteer street welfare charity providing night-time crisis intervention, first aid and signposting to vulnerable people in the night-time economy. Operates the same volunteer-led mobile outreach model as SOS Bus NI in a different UK city.
• The Welcome Organisation: Belfast-based charity providing daytime drop-in services, outreach and harm-reduction support for people experiencing homelessness. Listed as a direct SOS NI partner for homeless referrals and operates an adjacent service tier for the same vulnerable cohort.
• Whitechapel Centre: Liverpool-based charity supporting people who are homeless, rough sleeping or in crisis through outreach, hostels and resettlement services. Operates a street-outreach and complex-needs support model directly comparable to SOS NI's Belfast work.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SOSBUSNI
• Facebookfacebook.com/SOSBUSNI
• Instagraminstagram.com/sosbusni
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sos-bus-n-i-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SOS NI