Caught in a trap: Co Tyrone Elvis impersonator to make guest appearance at homelessness event

Jordan Devine, 26, aka Elvis Pelvis knows what it’s like not to have a permanent roof over his head and how that impacts on mental wellbeing.

The Elvis Presley impersonator will make a special guest appearance at a Hummingbird Project run #ViciousCircle homelessness event at PwC where speakers with lived experience of homelessness will share their stories and provide recommendations and solutions about how the housing system could do better.

Jordan, often to be seen in his sequined white jumpsuits singing to tunes such as Suspicious Minds and who once appeared on the ITV hit show The X Factor, is most likely to be found entertaining passers-by in Belfast’s Corn Market area.

While his career and profile are on the up, things weren’t always easy for the young man, who was so passionate about turning his Elvis act into a sustainable career, he had to use the money he earned busking to put himself up in a series of youth hostels. Two weeks ago, he finally found a permanent home.

For a year, Jordan moved between a series of backpacker’s hostels, slept on friends’ settees and sometimes paid for an AirBnB, often uncertain on some nights of where he would sleeping.

“The hostels were noisy. You didn’t know who could walk into your room. I had to lock up my money and amp or put a bag around my neck at night so my things wouldn’t get stolen.

“When I went to the Housing Executive I got rejected again because I had an address at my mum’s house in Strabane and that meant they didn’t class me as homeless, so it really was Catch 22. I think more needs to be done to support people, no matter what their circumstances, to find a safe space which they can call their own.”

Jordan’s lucky break came when he responded to an ad on Spare Room. He’s now living in South Belfast and can’t believe his luck.

“I still can’t believe it. It’s simple things like being able to get a good night’s sleep, have your own space, be able to cook food and not having to be anxious around people who I don’t trust is so good for my mental wellbeing. It’s great to feel safe and secure. Everyone deserves that.”

Leigh Carey, ceo of the Hummingbird Project, Portstewart, who is leading the #ViciousCircle event through Oak Foundation funding for the Community Foundation NI, said: “What makes us unique at Hummingbird is that we are all mental health experts who have lived experience of having gone through mental ill health ourselves.

“We bring that element of lived experience into everything we do….Unfortunately, mental health difficulty can often be a contributing factor as well as a consequence of homelessness. Through this project we want to understand better the traumas people face trying to find a suitable home and identify with input from service users and providers what can be done better; the reforms needed to protect others from having to go through such trauma in future.”