We cannot keep closing our eyes to homelessness crisis in Belfast
Around the streets of the city, we will likely pass someone who is homeless without even realising it
For the next week we’ll all be wishing friends, family and work colleagues, maybe even a few people we don’t really know, a Merry Christmas.
But there are some who deserve those wishes more than most, and they are people we are not likely to speak to at all, no matter what time of year it is.
For Lynne (not her real name), life is “a struggle for survival, and it gets harder every single day”.
While most will be with their families to celebrate Christmas together, she will be one of the alarmingly growing number of people living on the streets of Belfast with no place to call home.
We can all avert our eyes at this time of the year, focus instead on getting that much sought after present, that last minute gift for someone we have a passing acquaintance with, something a little extra for the table.
Around the streets of the city, we will likely pass someone who is homeless without even realising it.
“You can be walking around from 8am to 10pm. You have nowhere to sit, nowhere to go, so you just walk,” said Lynne.
Come evening, when it’s dark, damp, cold, miserable, we sit in our warm living rooms, shutting the door to the harsh world outside.
It remains out of sight, out of mind. As do those who have no choice but to sleep in doorways.
There are, of course, charities that step in to help. But they can only stretch the limited resources they have so far.
When the shelters are full and available beds occupied, there could be more than 60 people sleeping rough on the streets of Belfast. They have no wish to be there
That is down to a failure to provide by the government.
“You walk around and you’re embarrassed,” Lynne added.
“I now put my head down in shame because the people that come into Belfast, some will say hello, but a lot of people will look down their nose, and you feel so ashamed.”
That embarrassment and shame cannot be wished away.
Belfast is in dire need of new social housing, it needs to provide rooms and beds for all to feel safe and secure.
It requires more of those in power to sit up, take notice and do something.
So, when you’re in your car, getting frustrated as Belfast’s traffic grinds to a halt, be thankful you have that car, that home to be getting back to.
Chances are you’ll have crawled past someone huddled in a corner who would gladly swap position.
