New figures paint bleak picture in attempts to tackle homelessness

Having a safe home is something most of us take for granted, however many children and young people in NI are not being guaranteed this right, and are at risk of homelessness, or are homeless.

The number of households presenting as homeless from April to June 2024 was 4,197 which includes 1,222 families. 2,608 households were accepted as homeless as Full Duty Applicants, 947 of those being families, with accommodation not being reasonable or loss of rented accommodation as the two biggest factors.

We now have just under 48,000 applicants on the social housing waiting list, an increase on the last quarter, with just over 35,000 in housing stress.

Today’s statistics show a worsening situation.

The number of people living in temporary accommodation across Northern Ireland (NI) has also risen. In May 2022, nearly 8500 people, including 3476 children, were living in temporary accommodation. By March 2024, this figure was 5,106.

The Commissioner, said: “The right to family life and an adequate standard of living is the basic minimum a child or young person should expect from the State, and this is clearly not being met to the best of our ability.

“The recent publication of the Communities’ budget for this year paints a bleak picture for tackling homelessness, with only around 400 new start social homes to be built and the continuation of the House Sales Scheme in the NIHE.

“This, on top of the ongoing impact of the Cost-of-Living crisis, rocketing private rented accommodation prices and a lack of housing stock means that homelessness and the housing crisis continues.”

Chris Quinn continued: “Last year, my office produced our ‘A Place to Call Home’ Report, making a number of recommendations to the Department for Communities, Health and the NI Housing Executive. We are in the process of monitoring how effectively they have been implemented and will be publishing our report later this year.

“Whilst there are no quick and easy fixes, we must focus on early intervention and prevention. Government must ensure that the rights of children and young people are realised and options in place to ensure that everyone has a safe and decent place to live. I urge the NI Executive to legislate, as a minimum, to ensure that there is a statutory duty placed on the NIHE to prevent homelessness.”