Debate contribution: Homelessness Awareness Week 2024

Debate contribution by Mrs Ciara Ferguson on 2 December 2024.

MLA

Mrs Ciara Ferguson

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

2 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Homelessness Awareness Week 2024

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4686525

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. This is Homelessness Awareness Week. It is time for change, time for action and time for a renewed commitment across the Chamber to address, once and for all, the prevalent issue of homelessness throughout each and every one of our communities. As we all know, homelessness is not inevitable. We have a duty to invest in homelessness prevention, including in Housing First, a duty to deliver the reform of our biggest social housing landlord to enable it to build again and a duty to consistently meet our agreed annual targets for social and affordable housing. The Assembly and the Executive have an opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness and to create a better legacy for generations. It is welcome that the issue is finally a stand-alone priority in our Programme for Government. I welcome the beginning of Homelessness Awareness Week 2024, which is dedicated to delivering social, educational and awareness-raising events around the lived reality of homelessness. It is crucial to say that behind each individual experiencing homelessness is a complex narrative. It can be a story of loss and struggle, and it is often a story of systematic failures throughout a person's life. They are all our neighbours and our family members, and they all, rightly, deserve dignity, respect, compassion and support. There is a packed programme throughout this week. There will be over 32 sessions across a range of constituencies, the details of which can be found on the Homeless Connect website. I encourage as many representatives as possible to attend those events if they can. They will be run by a range of amazing organisations that a lot of our most vulnerable heavily depend on, including Homeless Connect; Simon Community; Shelter NI; Methodist Mission; Depaul; Extern; Help the Homeless; the Salvation Army; and MindWise. This week provides a great opportunity for each and every Member, if they have not already done so, to go out and visit those organisations in their local communities. As we all know, we face unprecedented challenges when it comes to homelessness. Based on the most recent statistics from 21 November, there are over 48,366 households on our social housing waiting list, three quarters of which are deemed to be in acute need of a home. Nearly a third of those households have been waiting over five years for a quality, affordable and suitable place to call home. When you take the 58,238 people who are homeless, which is the official statistic as of 30 June 2024, and add the approximately 25,000 people who are deemed to be experiencing hidden homelessness, as suggested by the Simon Community's research, you see that we have over 88,000 people who do not have access to secure housing. That is one in every 33 people across our society today. It is no surprise, therefore, to learn that homelessness impacts on every corner of our society. Over the past year, the number of households with homelessness status has grown in every council area across the North. The largest rise in the number of people was in the Belfast City Council and the Derry City and Strabane District Council areas. The biggest rise in percentage terms, although it has less of a rise in the number of individuals, was in Fermanagh and Omagh.

Comparatively, over the past decade, the number of people with official homelessness status has risen by 8,951 people in Belfast; 4,384 in Derry City and Strabane; and over 3,052 people in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, to name but a few areas.

Some of the main reasons for homelessness presentations in recent years have been that accommodation was not reasonable; there was a sharing breakdown; or the person or family experienced a loss of suitable or affordable private rented accommodation. In all such instances, if enough social and affordable housing supply were available, we would not have the same pressure on the system from the level of human need and from the continued over-reliance on temporary accommodation. Spending on temporary accommodation has increased by 495% to £34·5 million over the past five years. Sadly, as of April 2024, the statistics include over 5,106 children. Although we welcome the Housing Executive's continued commitment to ensuring that no child spends prolonged periods housed in temporary accommodation, the reality for many others is that lengthy stays of two or more years have become commonplace. I will take a moment to acknowledge the dedicated, passionate and steadfast people and organisations working in our homelessness sector. So many charities make an enormous difference on the ground whilst operating under ever-increasing pressure. Our homelessness service budget, which funds 19 core prevention projects and services, including Complex Lives in Belfast, is funded from the same pot as temporary accommodation funding. That continues to put a range of life-saving charities at huge risk. Homeless Connect currently co-chairs the Committee Representing Independent Supporting People Providers (CRISPP). In recent weeks, a survey outlined really deep concerns following the changes to National Insurance contributions. The sector faces rising need while operating on a reduced budget. That affects the recruitment and retention of staff and the quality of services. Additional funding for homelessness prevention projects and service providers is critical and must be coupled with a wider investment in social and affordable housing supply. The fundamental truth is that you cannot reduce and prevent homelessness without an adequate supply of social and genuinely affordable housing. Ending homelessness is vital to tackling poverty, improving educational and employment opportunities and improving people's health outcomes and life expectancy whilst protecting their mental health and well-being. Ending homelessness is vital. We cannot and must not fail in that regard.

947 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:36 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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