Depaul’s Housing First saw ‘significant growth’ last year in its services in Derry as it continued to seek to ‘reinforce housing as a fundamental human right’, a new report has shown.

Housing First was established in the North in 2013 to provide ‘people experiencing homelessness with not just a home but wraparound support and life-changing stability’.

Depaul Ireland’s 2025 ‘Impact Report, Frontline Prevention – Shaping the Present, Looking to the Future’, shows there was significant growth in Derry and Belfast despite ‘challenges regarding available housing stock and at times limited support for those with mental health and addiction issue’.

The charity said it began the roll out of mental health clinics in the North West through its Mindset programme.

Depaul’s Housing First offering saw ‘significant growth’ last year through services in Derry ‘reinforcing housing as a fundamental human right’, a new report has shown.

placeholder image — Depaul’s Housing First offering saw ‘significant growth’ last year through services in Derry ‘reinforcing housing as a fundamental human right’, a new report has shown.

“In the North & West region, the team successfully established 35 mental health clinics across Sligo, Donegal, Derry, Dungannon, Louth, and Monaghan,” the report states.

Mindset was set up in 2025 to ‘provide mental health support to service users through one-to-one recovery planning sessions, group work, and referral support’.

"Despite initial concerns from service managers about a lack of interest in mental health support, the N&W caseworkers facilitated 533 brief interventions in the second half of the year,” the report adds.

Depaul delivered record-breaking results in moving people out of emergency accommodation and into long-term homes - with 50 individuals moving out of homelessness in the North.

Across its 44 services, Depaul supported over 8,200 people.

Depaul’s 2025 Impact indicated:

8,204 total people supported across the island of Ireland, including 5,630 adults and 2,574 children (+12% on 2024).
763 people supported in the North, including 138 families.
93% total increase in mental health concerns, with 329 service users reporting support needs across the North.
Housing First expanded in 2025, helping 23 people in the North move out of homelessness into Housing First tenancies.
13,703 key-working sessions delivered in the North to address severe mental health and other complex needs.
21,181+ total hours of community support delivered by 217 dedicated volunteers across the Island, aiding vital social and youth initiatives.

In 2025, 50 households were supported into long-term accommodation across the North.

As of this week, 64,417 people in the North are classified as homeless.

Depaul CEO David Carroll said: "2025 was a year where our mission was put to the ultimate test. We demonstrated that homelessness can be temporary by moving more people (1,452 individuals and 914 households) across the Island of Ireland into permanent homes than ever before, while advocating for greater community cohesion to foster a sense of belonging.

“But at the same time, we saw a 28% increase in families coming through our doors and a 93% rise in service users reporting mental health concerns, which demonstrates the growing pressure on our services.

“We cannot sleepwalk into accepting homelessness figures as the new normal.”

Deidre Canavan, Deputy Director of Services in the North at Depaul, said: “Behind every number in this report is a person, a family and a story. In 2025, our teams supported more than 700 people across Northern Ireland, and what stands out most is the strength and resilience of the people we work alongside every day.

“This impact is made possible by our dedicated staff, volunteers and communities. More than 21,000 hours of volunteer support across the Island helped create connections and opportunities for people who often feel isolated.”