A LOCAL organisation that has been tackling homelessness in Northern Ireland since the late 1980s has launched a project to offer a new beginning to people at whatever stage they are at in their housing journey.

The New Beginnings Project from First Housing Association is funded by the Homeless Prevention Fund and it provides a variety of tools to assist service users with tenancy start-up and sustainment.

“There are a small number of grants which can be used to help service users who have got into financial difficulty and are at risk of losing their tenancy,” explained Maria Thompson, a Floating Support Co-ordinator with First Housing.

“The mental health of many service users has deteriorated during the pandemic, and through this project we have secured money towards employing a counsellor to help redress this balance.

“This is important, as poor mental health is one of the causes of homelessness.

“Other service users have been bereaved by Covid, have suffered job losses and extreme isolation, and need emotional support to process the impacts of these significant life events.”

Maria says the impacts of Covid-19 on homelessness are only starting to show because during lockdowns, the initial focus was stay at home so the Government reacted quickly to house anyone who had presented as homeless.

‘Increased levels’

The measure put in place “masked the full effects” of the pandemic, according to Maria, and she adds: “When they come to an end, as they are starting to, we will see increased levels of homelessness among those who were homeless at the start of the pandemic and were housed temporarily, as well as those who are presenting as new homeless.

“Whether coincidental or reactive, the pandemic has brought about many changes to the private rental sector, in particular, these include rent increases, an increase in rent arrears, an increase in landlords selling properties, an increase in demand for any affordable property available, and a decrease in the number of properties available for rent.”

While the stereotypical image of a person lying in a sleeping bag in a shop front is not the type of homelessness seen in Fermanagh, Maria describes the issue of “hidden homelessness” in the county.

“Rough sleeping is not very prevalent in Fermanagh, as is evidenced visually, and as is presented in the rough sleeping counts regularly conducted by the Northern Ireland Housing Execitove (NIHE).

“As well as the NIHE statutory response and that of voluntary organisations such as First Housing and Action For Children, the local community are very responsive when it comes to their attention that anyone is sleeping rough.

“Mostly what we experience in Fermanagh is hidden homelessness – in other words, we don’t see it, and unless it has been highlighted most people remain unaware of it. This includes people sleeping in cars/vans, abandoned outbuildings, ‘sofa surfing’, or staying indefinitely with friends and family.”

A lack of affordable properties within Fermanagh is part of the problem of tackling homelessness, and it is proving difficult for organisations such as First Housing to secure properties for those presenting as homeless, with record numbers calling to enquire about rental properties they have seen advertised.

First Housing offers a range of housing services including accommodation and non-accommodation-based services, helping service users address homelessness and the cause of their homelessness, such as addictions, mental health, debt, a lack of independent living skills, abuse, trauma and family estrangement.

While service users are usually vulnerable adults and families, there are some specialist services specifically for young people aged 16-18 years.

“In Fermanagh, we provide support to anyone facing homelessness or in housing difficulty over the age of 18, with an 89-year-old being our oldest service user, to date.”

Maria says just as there are many causes and routes into homelessness, there needs to be a variety of strategies and approaches providing a route out, with the most important being inter-agency response.

“Greater government investment is needed to commit to a robust building programme making social housing available to more people.

“But just as homelessness is not merely the absence of a home, work within health and justice departments needs to focus on the treatment of poor mental health and addictions, and to assist with the rehabilitation of offending and anti-social behaviour,” Maria concluded.

Funding for The New Beginnings project continues until March, 2022.