DEPUTY Mayor of Belfast and SDLP Homelessness Spokesperson Councillor Paul McCusker has welcomed the allocation of an additional £9m to fund the Housing Executive’s Covid reset plan on homelessness.

Cllr McCusker, who works with people who find themselves homeless in Belfast, said that ending the housing crisis and the causes of homelessness must be an immediate priority for the Executive.

This week, Paul McCusker was joined by students from Edmund Rice College in Glengormley who assisted with preparing meals for outreach and spent time on the streets of Belfast supporting those who are homeless and experiencing poverty.

The SDLP representative said: “The additional £9m to fund the homelessness action plan is welcome news and will go a long way to helping those who find themselves without a home.

"I work with vulnerable people in Belfast and I have seen the impact of the pandemic on people and families who were just about keeping their heads above water. Too many people in our city, and across Northern Ireland, feel like they’ve lost everything, including their home. 

“Over the last 12 months we have experienced a significant increase in the number of families and individuals requiring temporary accommodation. We now need to see the Department for Communities and the Minister step up to make sure that everyone who presents as homeless is allocated suitable temporary accommodation in the short term to prevent an increase in those forced to sleep rough on the street. 

“We also need to see more being done to transition people and families from temporary accommodation into more appropriate, secure tenure housing that meets their individual needs. The pandemic has been a traumatic experience for people and families across the North.

"Ending homelessness and providing more high quality social homes for those who need them must be an immediate priority for the Executive and the Housing Minister.”

Announcing the new funding Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said: “The £9m for the Reset Plan, will enable the Housing Executive to continue to deliver the public health response and ensure that every effort is taken to engage with individuals on the street to offer them somewhere safe to stay. It will also ensure emergency accommodation is offered to all.” 

The Minister continued: “The Department will be working proactively, with others across government, to prioritise action to improve our response to homelessness, to focus on prevention rather than management."