FAMILIES in North Belfast are barricading themselves in their own homes for fear of being attacked, a multi-agency meeting heard on Tuesday.
The meeting was called after recent racist attacks and sectarian intimidation of families in the Oldpark area.
Last week, a number of homes in Manor Street in the lower Oldpark were targeted with racist graffiti and criminal damage.
Racist graffiti on a house in the Manor Street area of the Oldpark last week
Catholic families living in a mixed development in Annalee Street have also been subject to further intimidation. A number of families were forced to move out in May after their homes were attacked.
On Tuesday politicians and community representatives as well as the PSNI and Housing Executive met at Girdwood Community Hub to discuss the recent incidents.
Speaking afterwards, North Belfast MP John Finucane, who convened the meeting, said everything is being done to help those affected.
"The racist attacks in the constituency in the past number of days comes on the heels of some very brutal and sustained sectarian attacks and intimidation," he said.
"It was important, I think, to address the immediate steps that can be taken to provide help and assistance to those families that have been attacked, those families that have been intimidated but also it's important to note that those families who are out there seeing what is happening in North Belfast and also feeling particularly vulnerable and we heard from those and about those families in the meeting.
"I'm pleased to say there are a number of practical steps that will be taken in the coming hours and days, which will provide assistance to some families in the constituency.
"I think it's also important going forward that we recognise we're in the housing crisis. We need to have the means and support to alleviate the housing crisis in North Belfast and beyond, but that those bodies that do have those powers, Housing Executive and Housing Association will be prioritizing those families that need to be moved.
"The families that we're dealing with here have incredibly complex needs. They are particularly vulnerable in their own right, and the fact that we have families that are barricading themselves into their own homes to provide some level of comfort and security is something that should shame and bring focus to all of us.
"There was consensus that North Belfast is a great place to live. Nobody should be in any doubt about that. All of us in the meeting today are either from North Belfast or work in North Belfast and are committed to ensuring that North Belfast is the safest and best community and it's a community that I'm very proud to come from.
"We heard about some tremendous work that goes on on the ground, sometimes away from public attention and gaze, but make no mistake about it, there is a determination to help those families that need that help now, and I was very glad to convene this meeting."
