This year, due to the cost of living crisis, a representative of First-Housing Enniskillen has told The Impartial Reporter that the charity has seen an influx in the number of people who are experiencing homelessness in the Fermanagh area.

“You wouldn’t think that there’d be homelessness associated with Fermanagh but it’s called hidden homelessness, that’s more prevalent - the likes of sleeping in your car, sofa surfing. There has been an influx of referrals now, with the cost of living crisis also,” said Mick Lodge, a representative of First-Housing.

Big sleep out

To highlight the work they do in helping those who are experiencing any form of homelessness in the county and to draw attention to the issues faced by those in this difficult situation, staff at First-Housing Enniskillen are braving the cold winter weather to take part in a ‘Big Sleep Out’ at The Diamond, Enniskillen.

Taking place this Friday, December 9, the sleep out coincides with Homelessness Awareness Week in Northern Ireland, which started on Monday, December 5 and will run until Sunday, December 11.

“We are sleeping out from 6pm on Friday evening to 6am on Saturday morning to raise awareness for homelessness,” said Mick, commenting that the team will be handing out literature during the sleep out.

“We’ll give out advice to people on the night and fundraise also. Because we’re a charity, we rely on donations to support people,” he added, going on to note that as a charity support service, First-Housing assist vulnerable individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness, or at risk of homelessness.

“Say the landlord’s selling the house and they’ve got a timeframe to leave the property, we assist them in finding accommodation. We support service users with other issues as well, whether that be mental health or substance abuse.

Any sort of thing that’s going to threaten their tenancy, we provide support packages for them people and try to promote independent living within the community,” he explained.

Specialists

First-Housing also link people in with additional specialists and support networks. “We do food donations and we’re actually pioneers now in Enniskillen of recycling furniture,” said Mick, explaining that the charity takes furniture donations which are kept in a storage unit and given to people who are setting up a tenancy to avoid them having a massive outlay purchasing items for their new accommodation.

Talking about the challenges that the seven staff members taking part in the sleep out may experience during the night, Mick said: “The problem will be the temperature as it is giving -3 degrees that night. It’s going to be a cold one.

“If anyone’s around Enniskillen on the night and they want to have a chat, or want any information, they are more than welcome to pop down and see what we’re all about,” he told this newspaper.