1 in 32 Now Homeless in Northern Ireland - Programme for Government Must Tackle Crisis
New figures obtained today by the charity Simon Community show the deepening homelessness crisis in Northern Ireland, with record-high numbers of people without a safe place to call home.
59,518 people in Northern Ireland are now officially homeless, 4,000 more than this time last year and a 136% increase in the last decade. Shockingly, this means that 1 in 32 people in Northern Ireland are now homeless, which the charity describes as “utterly shameful”.
At the same time, the charity has highlighted that the vast majority of people across Northern Ireland do not understand the true scale of the crisis. A recent poll has revealed that 93% of people underestimate the extent of homelessness in Northern Ireland, with 72% believing the problem is less than half as severe as it actually is.
With the final Programme for Government due next week, the charity is calling on the government to act now in response to these shocking figures. Jim Dennison, Chief Executive of the Simon Community, says:
“For decades, affordable housing has been neglected and this is the result. It’s utterly shameful that the most vulnerable in our society are being consistently failed, denied the basic human right of a safe and secure home.
Sky-rocketing rents, deepening poverty and a severe lack of genuinely affordable social homes have left thousands of people with nowhere to live and means homelessness figures continue to grow.
Homelessness is not just a statistic – it is families torn apart, children growing up in uncertainty and young people living without hope for their futures. Right now, across Northern Ireland, there are nearly 60,000 people living out of suitcases, sofa surfing, rough sleeping or trapped in unsuitable temporary accommodation for months, often years.
We believe that this crisis is not inevitable. It is the result of political choices, and it can be fixed with political will. But we need urgent action.
The Executive has been back for over a year, and while we welcome commitments to social housing in the draft Programme for Government and the Housing Supply Strategy, words are not enough.
The 25/26 Budget and final Programme for Government are crucial opportunities for the Executive to prove they are serious about tackling homelessness by outlining ambitious targets and real, sustained investment in housing and prevention. This will require true collaboration and resourcing across all government departments to tackle the root causes of our housing and homelessness crisis, from poverty to inadequate water infrastructure.
Ending homelessness isn’t just the right thing to do - it will save lives, strengthen communities, and reduce long-term costs to society. And most importantly, it will offer hope for families and individuals across NI. We must do things differently and we must do it now.”
To learn more about Simon Community’s work or to offer your support, please visit www.simoncommunity.org
NOTES TO EDITOR
In Northern Ireland there are 59,518 people officially classified as homeless. That's one in every 32 people.
In addition, according to recent Simon Community research, there are up to a further 25,000 people outside the system who are not getting the support they so desperately need.
Around a third (18,567) of those who are officially homeless are under the age of 18.
Families make up over half (57% / 33,898 people) of the people with official homelessness status.
A recent public poll conducted by Simon Community with LucidTalk showed that 72% of people estimated that there are up to 25,000 people experiencing homelessness in NI; a further 21% believed it was 50,000 or less.
89,098 people across NI are currently waiting for a social home. Between the 1970s and 1990s, around 4,500 social houses were built each year. Yet in 2024, only 1,346 new social homes were completed, much less than what is needed.
Founded in 1971, Simon Community was set up to provide a soup run for rough sleepers across Belfast City Centre. Over 50 years later, Simon Community has grown to become Northern Ireland’s largest homeless organisation. We work in every corner of NI, providing a range of services that support people experiencing – or at risk of – homelessness.
As of November 2024, there are 5,378 children living in temporary accommodation. The number of children living in temporary accommodation has doubled in the past 5 years (from 2,675 in Jul 2019).
In just one week in December 2024, there were only 9 available beds out of the 464 in Simon Community temporary accommodation sites. In the same period of 7 days, we received 538 requests from people desperate for somewhere to stay.