A voluntary organization that provides support to homeless individuals in Londonderry is concerned that budget cuts could force its closure. The Department for Communities, responsible for

addressing homelessness, received £111 million less than requested in day-to-day spending in the recent Stormont budget. This cut of 15.5% raises fears for both the services offered and the vulnerable people they assist.

Liam McLaughlin from First Housing in Derry expressed his concerns during an interview on The North West Today program, stating, "My fear is our service would go. We have five support workers working for our service at the moment and 100 service users. What would those people do?" He also mentioned the hundreds of individuals on their waiting list for temporary accommodation.

Should the budgets for homeless services be reduced, McLaughlin emphasized that many individuals would suffer in isolation and go unnoticed. Homeless Connect, an umbrella group for homelessness services in Northern Ireland, warned that the budget cuts would result in a £7.4 million shortfall for addressing homelessness. This shortfall would not only have significant consequences for those affected but also place additional strain on an already overburdened system, ultimately costing the public more in the short and long term.

Nicola McCrudden, the chief executive of Homeless Connect, stated that the fund supporting people in temporary accommodation and providing floating support in communities is also facing cuts. In the absence of an Executive, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, allocated £861.1 million to the department in April's budget. However, areas such as social security delivery and discretionary support grants are also experiencing reductions. Photo by Philafrenzy, Wikimedia commons.