A charity supporting homeless people has called for an “urgent response” from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive amid a high number of people presenting as homeless over the weekend.
Paul McCusker from the Peoples Kitchen Belfast said its services were “under extreme pressure” on Saturday night.
He claimed that as temperatures dropped over the weekend, there were some homeless people unable to access accommodation.
Mr McCusker said a “high amount of those presenting for support have had no other option but to sleep rough, Northern Ireland Housing Executive advising there is nothing available - even though they have a legal duty”.
“We cannot highlight enough the seriousness of the situation on the streets of Belfast, a system by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that is not fit for purpose for the most vulnerable men and women on our streets,” he said.
“This is an emergency.
“We need to see an urgent response to this to ensure everyone has access to the support they deserve, we also need to prevent more deaths on our streets.
“The provision of extra beds and support should not only happen when there is bad weather, it should be every night of the year.
“Northern Ireland Housing Executive this is your responsibility and rough sleeping can be addressed, we cannot wait until the temperature drops, this may be to late for many of those who are homeless on our streets in Belfast, this is an emergency.”
However, a NIHE spokesman said: “We do not accept that we failed any legal duty to homeless presenters this week.
“Yesterday (Saturday) we faced unprecedented and record breaking levels of people presenting to us seeking emergency temporary accommodation.
“This was a result of the flood conditions being experienced across Northern Ireland.
“Immense pressure was placed on the limited availability of temporary accommodation as a result of this week’s extreme weather conditions.
“As a response, across Northern Ireland our teams were active, on the ground, at a number of locations ensuring people were kept safe and as a consequence, understandably, our resources were extremely stretched.”
The spokesman added that over the weekend, “over 4,500 households availed of temporary accommodation and 11,000 households have benefited from this support over the last year”.
“We always strive to ensure that everyone presenting to us is cared for and yesterday additional crash bed facilities were made available to help those in need,” he said.
“As stated, the situation faced by our teams on Saturday night was unprecedented and we will continue to assist the most vulnerable in our community as we have done consistently.”
