Today begins Homelessness Awareness Week, an annual event which takes place in the north, and this year the urgency for action has never been greater.
Every person deserves a safe, secure place to call home.
Yet over 30,000 households containing more than 58,000 people have full duty status, meaning they meet the legal tests under the homelessness legislation and are waiting for social housing.
That’s a rise of 135% in the last decade. Unsurprisingly the level of need for temporary accommodation has also risen sharply, doubling in the last five years to 4,784 households including over 5,100 children.
Of course, these aren’t just numbers - they are people forced to live miles away from family and friends, children born into homelessness services and communities grappling with the legacy of successive governments’ failure to meet housing need.
This year’s theme for Homelessness Awareness Week is, Time for Change, which reflects a growing consensus that homelessness is not inevitable and is solvable.
Achieving change however requires all of us to consider what we can do differently - as members of the public, as people who work in government, in the statutory sector, in voluntary and community services, in the media and in private business. In other words - as human beings.
We need to think about homelessness from a humanitarian perspective.
It is not acceptable that people experiencing homelessness on the streets of Belfast have no drop-in centre to meet their basic human needs, that they struggle to get access to health care, that across council areas children face disrupted education, that families live in hotel rooms or that 140 young people each year leave the care system and present as homeless.
At Homeless Connect, we believe in collaboration and we have seen the results when like minded people and groups come together to bring about change.
In most circumstances, involving people with lived experience is the key to unlocking doors and to finding solutions.
Sometimes it can mean systems change, it may involve taking some risk, it certainly involves thinking differently and most importantly it calls for leadership. Whilst many of us know what needs to change, we also need to see investment to make it happen.
Funding to prevent homelessness, to support people in temporary accommodation and to build much needed social homes must be a priority for our Executive.
Despite the many challenges we are continuously facing, I remain hopeful. Homelessness can be ameliorated and progress is possible. We need political will and public support to drive lasting change.
I am heartened to see that this week MLAs in Stormont are holding a debate on homelessness and will acknowledge the staff who work in the services.
Belfast City Council is also hosting an event on the city’s response to homelessness through the innovative and collaborative work of the complex lives project.
Homelessness Awareness Week is a chance for everyone to get involved.
Throughout the week, organisations are hosting a range of events to discuss the challenges and to highlight incredible work being done.
You can get involved—attend an event, share your support on social media, or simply take the time to learn more about homelessness and what can be done to end it. You can find out more on our website www.homelessconnect.org
Change begins with awareness, but it requires action to make a difference. Let’s work together to build a society where no child, no family, and no individual is left without a place to call home. Now is the time for change—and together, as humans, we can make it happen.
