Northern Ireland's homeless charities are facing "major challenges" as the number of households with homelessness status have increased again.
New figures from the Department for Communities released on Thursday morning show another rise in the number of households on the social housing waiting list with homelessness status from September to December 2024. In December 2024, there were 48,325 households on the social housing waiting list with 30,982 of those households having homelessness status.
Over the last decade, the number of households on the social housing waiting list has risen by 23% from 39,338 in March 2015 to 48,325 in December 2024. Over the same period, the number of households with homelessness status has grown from 13,644 households to 30,982 - an increase of 127% over the last decade.
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In each of the last ten years, the number of households with homelessness status on the list has steadily increased year on year.
Belfast City Council has the highest number of households with homelessness status at 9,661. Over the last decade, the number of households in Belfast with homelessness status has more than doubled from 4,557 households in March 2015.
This is followed by Derry and Strabane Council area with 4,344 households having homelessness status (up by 117% over the last decade) and then Newry, Mourne and Down with 2,780 households (up 110% over the last decade). Seven of Northern Ireland’s eleven councils recorded an increase in the number of households with homelessness status compared to the figures recorded on September 30.
Speaking after the latest figures were released, chief exeuctive of Homeless Connect, Nicola McCrudden, said: “The trend of homelessness figures is going in the wrong direction. Behind the numbers are real people with hopes and dreams for the future who find themselves unable to find housing which is a basic human right.
"We know the situation could be far worse if it was not for the work of the homelessness sector here. Every day, staff working in accommodation-based services, day centres, street outreach and floating support are doing their best to prevent homelessness and support people with no place to call home."
However, as demand for support continues to rise, Nicola said charities in the homelessness sector are facing "major challenges" as "significant extra costs" in the coming months will impact services.
She said: "The increase in Employers National Insurance Contributions will impose significant extra costs on organisations who are already struggling to make ends meet due to consistent underfunding over recent decades. Come April, unless the additional costs are mitigated by the British Government or the Northern Ireland Executive, many organisations in the sector will be faced with stark choices over service provision and staffing.
"This will have consequences for the quality of the services and support they can provide to people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Any reduction in service provision will only pile pressure on a system which is struggling to cope and, in all likelihood, will cost more to the public purse in the long run."
Nicola is calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to take homelessness more seriously and increase provision of housing. She added: "If we are serious about seeing homelessness levels fall, we need the NI Executive to build on the foundations laid in their first year through the inclusion of a housing outcome in the Programme for Government and the Housing Supply Strategy. We need homelessness prevention to be prioritised through the allocation of consistent, long-term investment.
"We hope the final Programme will include specific targets and indicators seeking to prevent and reduce homelessness in this society. In 2024, only 1,346 social housing completions were recorded here, which is considerably below the level of completions we need. Consistent investment in building and maintaining social housing will be vital if people experiencing homelessness are to be able to access the housing they so badly need."
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