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Leading homelessness charity The Welcome Organisation welcomed the minister for communities’ commitment to sourcing a new day hub facility for people experiencing homelessness in Belfast as a matter of urgency.
Minister Gordon Lyons’ expressed his support for The Welcome Organisation during a visit to their Townsend Street administration offices today (September 9). The Minister had reached out to the charity after the July 23 arson attack on their Drop-in Centre on Townsend Street.
Since the attack, The Welcome Organisation took the decision not to reopen the Drop-in Centre at that location and has since been operating a skeleton Drop-in from its Crisis Accommodation for Women.
As a result, some of the most chronically homeless people in our city have been unable to avail of the full service the Drop-in Centre offered – from basic needs like food, toilets, showers, internet access and laundry facilities to life-changing and life-saving support on housing, benefits and addictions.
During the visit The Welcome Organisation urged the Minister to help secure suitable premises for a day hub facility and to seize the opportunity to address several of the key elements of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Draft Programme for Government published earlier this week.
Minister for Communities, Gordon Lyons said; “The work of the Welcome Organisation is vital. It provides frontline services to assist people who find themselves in crisis.
“Homelessness is a complex problem, all the more so when those affected are experiencing mental health or addiction issues. Addressing it involves my department and the Housing Executive, working closely alongside other departments. This is part of a much wider effort which also includes a range of statutory, community and voluntary organisations, providing support to people who are extremely vulnerable.
“The Welcome Organisation is a key part of this. Those who attacked their headquarters in July put further strain on services at a time when funds are already scarce.
“This was an opportunity to show my support for the work of the Welcome Organisation, hear more from the dedicated individuals who deliver this service, and discuss their concerns going forward.”
Jude Whyte, Chairperson of The Welcome Organisation said:
“We greatly appreciate the Minister taking the time to firstly offer his support to The Welcome Organisation after the arson attack on our Drop-in Centre, and secondly for listening to our calls for greater resources to be invested into what has been a chronically underfunded area for many years.
“The Minister’s visit presents an excellent opportunity for him to directly address and action several of the nine priorities outlined in his Executive’s Draft Programme for Government, not least their commitment to focusing on preventing homelessness and making it brief and non-recurrent.
“We presented our vision of a multi-use, psychologically informed, day hub facility for people experiencing homelessness in Belfast, with on-site mental health support.
“The only adequate response to the mental health crisis experienced by people affected by homelessness is the integration of mental health professionals into our established services – including Drop-in, Street Outreach and our female accommodation services.”
Female homelessness was also a key area that Welcome urged the Minister to take action on – specifically to provide support for additional appropriate accommodation for homeless women that has the potential to end rough sleeping for females in Belfast.
“It is well documented that there are differences in the experience of homelessness between men and women and successful solutions need to have a gendered and trauma informed approach.
“This has long been the experience of The Welcome Organisation and research carried out on behalf of the Housing Executive (HE) supports our experience.
“We believe that a female accommodation service with the right structure and support on-site has the potential to end rough sleeping for women in Belfast.”
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