The number of households on waiting lists for social homes in Northern Ireland has reached 47,312. This includes 29,394 households with homelessness status. 

The Strangford MLA said: “Northern Ireland is experiencing a homelessness crisis and the Minister for Communities needs to start prioritising homelessness prevention. We simply don’t have enough homes and are not building enough new homes to provide sufficient accommodation for everyone.

“The Department of Communities needs to invest in building new homes to reduce waiting lists and prevent families from living in unsatisfactory conditions, rather than investing millions in temporary accommodation. 

“The lack of commitment to delivering new build homes and investing in homelessness prevention, will not only neglect to help those experiencing homelessness but will ultimately increase pressure on every Executive department. By not addressing homelessness, more pressure will be put on the PSNI, who have to deal with the fallout such as drug and alcohol abuse, and on our health services, which are dealing with injuries and effects of street sleeping. It is devastating that in Northern Ireland, we are failing to support and protect our citizens instead of taking positive steps to eradicate homelessness. 

“The Department for Communities and the NI Housing Executive are also failing to uphold the Concordat agreement the NI government shares with the community and voluntary sector, which states they must work together as respected partners. This week, staff and volunteers working in community prevention and support services, funded through the homelessness services budget, learnt that their organisations and jobs were at risk. This sector plays a vital role in providing support to those who are vulnerable and are experiencing homelessness and should not be taken for granted. 

“It's time the Department for Communities and the Executive prioritised investment in helping the most vulnerable in our society and the frontline staff supporting them."