Belfast model should be used to tackle street activity and rough sleeping in Derry, says Ferguson
A multi-agency approach to homelessness that is working in Belfast should be rolled out in Derry to help people engaged in street activity and rough sleeping, a local MLA has said.
Sinn Féin MLA Ciara Ferguson pointed to a Street Needs Audit that found 288 people had had 1,435 engagements with homelessness service providers across a six week period in Derry, Belfast and Newry in 2023.
The survey found that in Derry 50 individuals in total had had over 411 engagements during the audit period.
The homelessness charity Homeless Connect has confirmed that 33 of the engagements in Derry related to sleeping rough.
In the Assembly this week Ms. Ferguson observed: “The 'Street Needs Audit' conducted in Belfast, Derry and Newry identified 288 individuals engaged in some form of street activity, including rough sleeping. As our colleagues in Homeless Connect stated:
“‘Each person who sleeps rough has a unique story as to how they have found themselves in such a situation’.
“A range of front-line homeless support charities echoed that view. Whilst there may be commonalities, different people need different forms and levels of support to transition out of homelessness into sustainable housing, rather than being stigmatised and criminalised.”
The Foyle MLA called for Belfast’s Complex Lives model that supports people who have fallen into ‘a cycle of rough sleeping, addiction, poor mental and physical health, and offending behaviour’ to be extended to Derry.
"I have repeatedly welcomed the work of the Complex Lives initiative in Belfast City Council, which works in collaboration with voluntary and community sector organisations and statutory partners.
"I would like to see the initiative rolled out in Derry and beyond in recognition of the fact that a trauma-informed, collaborative approach is much more likely than any punitive measure to generate positive change,” she said.
Mrs. Ferguson made the call while expressing support for amendments to the Justice Bill that would decriminalise rough sleeping and begging.
She branded some of the existing legislation around homelessness ‘archaic’ and ‘shameful’.
“For two centuries, the Vagrancy Act 1824 and the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act 1847 have enabled and upheld the criminalisation of homelessness, and we all recognise that that is shameful.
"That archaic and stigmatising legislation utilises terms such as ‘rogues’ and ‘vagabonds’ to reference those who are experiencing chronic homelessness, and it singles out people with disabilities, which is totally inappropriate, insulting and unethical. That legislation needs to be repealed.
"Whilst I welcome the fact that the PSNI has said that no arrests or prosecutions have been made under section 4 of the 1824 Act, it is important to remove from the statute book legislation that stigmatises and criminalises rough sleeping. Additionally, the PSNI stressed to the Committee that rough sleeping consumes a lot of its time, the police being the first point of contact when it is reported.
"The PSNI indicated that there is a need for others to be more prominent in that space, and I reflect on the fact that the number of households with homeless status has risen by 122 per cent to over 33,000 households, and our homelessness charities are significantly constrained by short-term funding arrangements, including quarterly settlements,” stated the local Sinn Féin MLA.