Communities Minister Gordon Lyons pressed to match Andy Burnham ambition to end rough sleeping
Stormont’s minister for homelessness has been pressed to match the Prime Minister’s ambitions on ending the problem – with some 61 homeless people dying in Northern Ireland each year.
Andy Burnham told a homeless Summit at Downing Street last week that he wanted to give “every single person” sleeping rough in England help by the end of this year.
The budget delivered a £432m boost to get the 5,000 rough sleepers off the streets of England by Christmas.
In December last year tributes were paid to Norman McKeown, believed to be in his 60s, who was found dead at Custom House Square in Belfast days before Christmas.
Fifty-eight homeless people died in NI in both 2024 and 2023, while 67 died in 2020 — an average of 61 deaths annually in NI.
Coincidentally, a snap shot survey in NI in November last year found exactly the same number of people were sleeping rough as those that typically die each year here - 61.
In 2024, around 74% of homeless people who died in NI were male and 26% female. Just under half, 47%, were under 45. Drug-related causes accounted for 28% of deaths.
Chair of Stormont All Party Group on Homelessness, Kellie Armstrong MLA, said NI has already proven it was able to match the prime minister’s aim.
"We demonstrated during the Covid pandemic that it is possible to provide accommodation at a larger scale, and I want us to be ambitious about what we can do for those sleeping rough,” he said.
The Alliance MLA called on Communities Minister Gordon Lyons "to invest in order to save homeless lives".
She said it is vital to get people off the streets coming into colder winter months.
But investment must involve the voluntary and community sector so it is most effective, she said.
"Their staff are out in freezing and wet conditions helping rough sleepers to find somewhere to escape the weather, and I want to pay tribute to their work and commitment," she added.
Nicola McCrudden, chief executive of Homeless Connect, said homelessness is generally caused by overlapping housing and support needs.
“Rough sleeping is solvable in Northern Ireland, but only if ambition is matched by sustained investment," she said.
Any Barnett consequential funding for NI arising from the UK Government’s rough sleeping initiative "must be ring fenced to stabilise frontline homelessness services" in NI she added.
Ms McCrudden will meet Mr Lyons in early November alongside homeless sector colleagues to discuss the funding crisis in frontline services, she added.
Jim Dennison, chief executive of Simon Community, welcomed the prime minister's plans: "The true number of people experiencing rough sleeping over the course of a year is likely to be considerably higher than a snapshot on any one night can capture," he said.
"Prevention works. Every time we help someone keep their home, we prevent the trauma and disruption that homelessness causes for individuals, families and communities. That's why investment in homelessness prevention must be a priority."
He said the main causes of homelessness are a shortage of affordable housing, rising costs, poor physical and mental health, and difficulties accessing support.
Mr Dennison called on all Stormont parties standing in the next Assembly election to commit to those priorities.
The Department for Communities was invited to comment.