Homeless referrals increase by a fifth as housing group marks 10 years

That is the stark statistic delivered by Maria Thompson, the Enniskillen organisation’s Floating Support Co-ordinator.

The aid and support service celebrated its 10 year anniversary last Thursday.

It has provided support to over 1,000 people in the county since its inception in May 2005.

But speaking to the Impartial Reporter this week Maria says she and her three floating support workers are now busier than ever before.

First Housing has two bases -- one in Enniskillen and another in Londonderry, where the organisation originated.

“It was originally called Foyle Homeless,” explains Maria, “But when it received funding for a second area, it was set up in Enniskillen.

According to Maria, this would have been unusual because most services like this would go to Omagh.

“But Enniskillen had more homeless presenters to the Housing Executive.” The floating support co-ordinator explains that there are 400 people presenting as ‘homeless’ on average each year in Fermanagh.

“But that is only the tip of the iceberg,” she warns, “It’s important to remember that there are people out there who do not come forward. I would say homelessness in Fermanagh is getting worse. It is deteriorating,” she adds.

“Street homelessness is not so much of an issue here in Fermanagh. That is the visible kind of homelessness, which seems to be more sporadic in this area.

“It is the ‘hidden homeless’ that is the problem. “There are so many people out there ‘sofa-surfing’.

“We have young people in Fermanagh going to ‘party houses’ trying to find a sofa to sleep on for the night.

“Our young people are so vulnerable.

“We so often take for granted the safety that lies behind our own front door.

“Homelessness is such a frightening thing for anyone to have to deal with.” From April 2014 until December last year there were 301 homeless referrals to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in Enniskillen. In the same period, there were 183 in Omagh.

One particular problem for Fermanagh’s homeless is the severe lack of services.

“There are no hostels here,” Maria points out, “We had a lad in here the other day. He just appeared in Enniskillen and he had nowhere to go.

“We had to get him a place in a hostel in Belfast because there are no overnight facilities here.

“It is a horrendous situation to be in, not having anywhere to go. And there are so few services.

“Someone can still be ‘homeless’ and not meet the Housing Executive criteria for help -- so where do they go?

“Some people don’t even know where to start looking for help -- that is where we come in.” Maria explains there are many issues that may affect people’s ability to sustain tenancy.

“It may be an addiction, they could be suffering from mental health issues, family estrangement or debt,” she says.

“We deal with all of those issues.” While many of these can be dealt with by First Housing, with the help of partnership agencies, Maria explains the organisation refers clients with more acute aspects of these issues on to specialist agencies.

From helping clients to manage budgets, linking in with foodbanks and organising personal development courses or volunteering opportunities, the aid and support service works to provide whatever the client needs to get them housed or stabilize their tenancy again.

The organisation works to empower its clients.

“There have been many occasions when a landlord has told someone they will be ‘out in a week’,” Maria says, “But they cannot legally do that, We work with our clients to make sure they get their 28 days notice in writing.

According to Maria, one particular rising trend is the number of people presenting with housing arrears.

“One problem is a person’s working situation,” Maria explains, “There are so many people on ‘zero hour contracts’.

“They could be working different hours every week and their money coming in is constantly changing. That in turn can change their housing benefits.

“It is very hard for people to budget in that situation.” Another issue First Housing clients have presented with in the past is anti-social behaviour.

“If a client is at the receiving end of anti-social behaviour, they obviously don’t want to leave the house they have been in for years. But they may have no other choice,” Maria explains.

“One of our clients erected shutters around his house because things were so desperate for him. He was a very vulnerable man and that was the only way he could feel safe.” Isolation and loneliness is another aspect of homelessness that Frist Housing works to address.

The organisation holds a monthly support group for service users past and present.

“It is important to maintain links with post-service users,” Maria explains, “They know that we are always here for them.

“One fifth of the people we work with are return clients. Things may have deterioriated for them again, but they know that we are their first port of call for help.” Anyone seeking help can contact First Housing in Enniskillen by telephoning 6634 2585 or dropping by its office at 7 Queen Street.