Debate contribution: Homelessness Awareness Week 2024

Debate contribution by Ms Kellie Armstrong on 2 December 2024.

MLA

Ms Kellie Armstrong

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

2 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Homelessness Awareness Week 2024

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4686949

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. As I rise to conclude the debate, I thank the Minister for his contribution. It contained some very good news that I know others outside the Building will be delighted to hear. I hoped that you were going to say, Minister, that funding for the prevention of homelessness was guaranteed until the end of this mandate and not the end of this year, but we will take that one. I thank Ciara Ferguson MLA, who is the convener of the all-party group on homelessness, for enabling the debate and ensuring that it had cross-party support before we came to the House. It is good for others outside this place to hear that all of us are in agreement about the fact that homelessness is a stark issue. As a politician, it is very hard to live with, because we all know people who have housing issues, but, when faced with homelessness, it really does have a devastating impact on a person's life. That is why today, at the start of Homelessness Awareness Week, it is so important to have this debate in the Assembly. I thank Mark Baillie and all the members of Homeless Connect for their work not just this week but all year round. As the motion states, we recognise the hard work of the organisations and individual members of staff who are working so hard to support people who are homeless and to try to prevent homelessness. They have some of the toughest front-line jobs and provide round-the-clock help and assistance to homeless people. I pay tribute to all those front-line workers. Your work has been disappointingly underfunded — we are now hearing that there is a glimmer of hope — and the pay does not reflect your commitment and dedication. Your work is literally saving lives. Over the past 12 months, 53 citizens from Northern Ireland have died while being homeless. We do not want that to happen again. We do not want to have huge numbers of people dying on our streets. In fact, over the summer, I believe that four or five people died in one week. That is a very difficult thing for us all to live with. In 2023, 188 people died, and 53 people have died in the past 12 months. I hope that, over this winter, we do not see any more deaths, and that will be thanks to the preventative work that the Minister has talked about providing budget for and thanks to the organisations, some of which may well be in the Gallery today. It is up to them. They actually save lives by bringing people in off the streets, especially when the weather can be so bad over the winter. I thank everyone who spoke during the debate. There is cross-party support, so I am glad that there will not be a Division. Ciara highlighted the fact that people who are homeless are our neighbours and our families. She highlighted the unfortunate amount that we spend on temporary accommodation, which is up to £34·5 million over five years, and she confirmed that ending homelessness is vital in addressing poverty and improving health and educational outcomes. Brian Kingston confirmed that the DUP supports the motion, and he talked about how important it is to have housing in the Programme for Government. He said that it is a cross-departmental issue and talked about learning from a Housing Executive officer how burnt out they are and how Complex Lives has reinvigorated them. Having met a number of front-line workers, I know that that burnout is emotionally draining because they are so committed to helping people who are homeless. My colleague Peter McReynolds talked about how he was judged as a homeless person and that he had had a slight insight into how people who are homeless are considered on our streets. He talked about the cold and exhaustion, and I think that we can all understand how debilitating it is when you do not have a roof over your head, not getting sleep night after night. Andy Allen is very good on homelessness issues, and I am glad to be on the Committee with him. He talked about homes being the foundation of our lives and said that we need to have a properly funded homelessness strategy. I think that we will be behind the Minister in looking for that as the mandate goes forward. Mark Durkan broke my heart, I have to say, when he talked about children asking how Santa will find them and about the ask this year being a place to call home. We all know, as Claire Sugden highlighted, how many families and children are faced with homelessness without that security. We have to do something to improve that.

I will, Andy.

Yes, that is absolutely right. Because of the amount of money that the Minister was unable to secure in the Budget for capital build and the ongoing millions that we are spending on temporary accommodation, we are holding back the needed new builds for social homes for people. You are absolutely right. Gerry Carroll said that homelessness is a political choice. In my summation, I want to read something out from the Simon Community that confirms that. He also talked about his Member's Bill. I am looking forward to seeing that, Gerry. Claire Sugden said that homelessness is a profound social failure. You are absolutely right, Claire. You talked about the victims of domestic abuse and said that too many children are being raised in temporary accommodation. The Minister said that the theme of this Homelessness Awareness Week is a "Time for Change". Thank you, Minister, for making your announcements today. I will reiterate those so that all know that we are in support of this. There is £6·7 million for the Housing Executive to help it to meet its statutory objectives. The uncertainty regarding funding for community organisations will end as their funding is confirmed until the end of the year. In 2025-26, the Housing Executive will have its own specific homelessness prevention budget.

Yes, Minister.

Thank you, Minister. I was writing like crazy to see whether I could get all that down, because I was busy thinking of a 100 questions to ask you. In summarising and bringing to a close the debate, I thank all who have taken part. I think of the words of the Simon Community, and I am very grateful to the Simon Community, Homeless Connect and other organisations that have allowed me to meet front-line workers and people with lived experience. The Simon Community said in its report:

"Now is the time when we must commit to ending homelessness in Northern Ireland. And we can end it. We can end it by each of us playing our part ... We can end homelessness by not ignoring it."

I hope today that people outside the Chamber hear that we are committed, as all parties and all MLAs in this place, to ending homelessness.

1,171 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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