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Northern Ireland’s only hostel exclusively for homeless women set to close
Northern Ireland’s only hostel solely dedicated to housing homeless women is set to close next month.
Unite the Union Northern Ireland, on behalf of Regina Coeli House staff, is asking the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) to take over the hostel in west Belfast after the current owners said they can no longer maintain it.
The 21-bed hostel, which has been open since 1935 and is owned by charity the Legion of Mary, provides accommodation and support to homeless women; women with mental health challenges or addiction problems; and survivors of domestic abuse.
Despite being owned the Legion of Mary, the facility is funded by the NIHE. The NIHE is the country’s largest social landlord and manages more than 100,000 dwellings. It is also legally responsible for preventing homelessness in the country.
Staff, who face redundancy as a result of the closure, are staging a sit-in protest. They say that shutting the hostel would be wrong for vulnerable women.
Unite, whose petition to save the facilities has gained more than 10,000 signatures, is also calling on communities minister Deirdre Hargey to provide funding to expand access to the service for vulnerable women.
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Taryn Trainor, regional equalities and women’s officer at Unite, said there is a need to provide a women-only facility.
“In some cases, the residents may have experienced violence or trauma from a violent partner and need an all-female facility to feel safe and less vulnerable and yet they have been forced into mixed accommodation.
“It’s completely unacceptable that workers and residents at what is a publicly funded facility – providing a service to some of our most vulnerable women – can be treated like this.
“Instead of this facility being wound down and closed, we should be seeing a huge investment into expanding its provision.”
An NIHE spokesperson said: “In November, we were made aware that the Regina Coeli facility in west Belfast is due to close by spring 2022.
“Our immediate priority was to secure accommodation for the existing residents of Regina Coeli, based on their circumstances and their support needs.
“Only a very small number now remain at the facility.”
He added that the provision of specific support services and accommodation for women experiencing homelessness is a “critical priority”.
“We want to offer reassurance that we are proactively exploring ways in which the service offered by Regina Coeli can be provided going forward,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department for Communities said the decision to close the hostel was taken by the owner’s board of trustees, “who as the employing authority are also responsible for the terms and conditions of the staff it employs”.
“Departmental officials met with Paul Maskey MP and representatives of Unite and expressed Ms Hargey’s concerns about the trustees’ decision, and emphasised that the department would consider proposals provided to it by the Legion of Mary. None have been provided to this point.
“The minister is disappointed by the decision to close this facility with immediate effect and her priority is the safety of the women who need this service,” they said.
The spokesperson added that Ms Hargey is working with the NIHE to respond to the decision “quickly and in the best manner possible, and alternative accommodation for the immediate term has been identified”.
“The department and the NIHE are working to explore longer-term options for maintaining this kind of vital housing service for women as urgently as possible,” they added.
The Legion of Mary has been contacted for comment.
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