Housing advice charity pledges focus on homelessness prevention in plan launched at Stormont

It said Housing Rights was “determined to prioritise homelessness prevention”.

“To do this, we will work with families and individuals who, without our intervention, would be in danger of losing their homes.

“Through our work, we will advocate for people who need help to secure physical improvements to their home, resolve disputes with their landlord, agent or lender and improve people’s financial circumstances so that they can meet their housing costs.

“We recognise that for people who are already without a home, support can also make a difference by ensuring that their experience of homelessness is the least damaging experience possible.

“Through our intervention, and work with partners across sectors, we want homelessness to become rare, brief and non-recurring,” according to the plan.

Housing Rights said its services will work to alleviate homelessness and to support those most at risk of repeat homelessness through targeted interventions, such as for people leaving custody or care settings.

At Stormont, Kate McCauley, chief executive of Housing Rights, highlighted the scale of the housing and homelessness crisis in Northern Ireland.

She said: “Over the past 60 years, Housing Rights has been at the forefront of helping people to overcome their housing problems.

“As we look forward into our seventh decade, we know that, regrettably, our work has never been more needed.

“The challenges ahead of us remain serious and entrenched. Too many people cannot afford a decent home.

“Too many people are waiting too long in unsuitable accommodation, and we face new threats from the impact of climate change, which risk deepening longstanding inequalities in housing.”

She said Housing Rights was “ambitious” about preventing homelessness and “determined to find new and better ways of working, and more committed than ever to a society where everyone has a home”.