Member's statement: Homelessness Awareness Week
Member's statement by Mrs Ciara Ferguson on .
- MLA
- Mrs Ciara Ferguson
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 1 December 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Homelessness Awareness Week
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5268609
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Today marks the beginning of Homelessness Awareness Week 2025, the theme of which is "See the Person". We are well aware of the recent research by the Simon Community that revealed that childhood trauma plays a powerful role in the levels of homelessness here. Some 66% of those who reside in hostel-based homeless accommodation have had four or more adverse childhood experiences. To put that in context, that figure is four times higher than that for the general population. As we are well aware, behind those statistics are real people who have dreams and aspirations for their lives; people who have an equal right to a safe, secure place to call "home"; and people who evidently encountered far more difficulty in their childhood than should be expected of anyone at any point in their life. What does that mean if we strip it right back and see the person?
It means that homelessness is never about personal failure. Homelessness across Irish society is our collective shame. Statistics evidence that, in each of the past 10 years, the number of homeless households here has consistently risen. Last week, sadly, we heard more of the same. We are creating a cycle of exclusion that is almost impossible to break.
The British Government's approach of recent days — keeping local housing allowance rates frozen and unable to keep pace with rising rents — is absolutely shameful. Homelessness is not inevitable, yet nothing changes if nothing changes. Unlike the British Government, we recognise that our response must focus on the entwined nature of poverty and homelessness. Today, we see in research that was published on the fundamental Housing First model evidence of high housing retention rates and how that model helps to resolve non-housing problems, including offending and re-offending rates and mental health issues. We need the Department for Communities and the Housing Executive to carry out a full, comprehensive review of our homelessness legislation here. Finally, and fundamentally, we must deliver never-before-seen levels of investment in social and affordable housing and the scaling up of the Housing First model in the North. Once again, I remind Members that there is a range of events in Derry, Armagh, Ballymena, Bangor, Belfast, Coleraine, Dungiven, Newry, Newtownabbey, Portrush and Strabane this week, and I encourage Members to attend their local events to honour Homelessness Awareness Week.
390 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.93).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.93 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.53 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.24 |
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 0.20 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.02 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:02 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.