‘Including the Homeless’ Seminar – 2 December 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen.  Good morning to you all.  Thank you all for coming here today to this seminar, which is part of Homelessness Awareness Week, at which we can both look back upon the achievements of the Including the Homelessness Strategy and look to the future.  

Before I come to the main purpose of today’s gathering I would quickly like to mention the presentation that took place when I arrived this morning.  Each year around this time of year I have sought to present additional funding to homeless organisations and this year I have been able to present a cheque for £70,000 to the Council for the Homeless for distribution amongst a wide range of organisations which I hope can be put to good use.

And so to today’s business in earnest.  The very first strategy document that I launched on becoming Minister for Social Development was ‘Including the Homeless’ back in July 2007 at an event hosted by Council for the Homeless.  

At that time I remarked upon the stress and anguish that lies behind the raw homelessness statistics.  It has been said that the impersonal hand of Government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbour but that does not give Ministers a get out clause.  I set out my aim in publishing the strategy that what I wanted to achieve was for Government Departments, Agencies and voluntary sector bodies to come together and work effectively so that this major problem could be tackled.

Within this context my Department was tasked to take the lead in establishing a Steering Group to take the Including the Homeless Strategy forward.  

This Steering Group was comprised of Officials from a number of Government Departments, representatives of statutory agencies and the voluntary and community sector.  It had a wide ranging and flexible terms of reference but essentially its purpose was to ensure that the risk of homelessness is reduced and that the full range of appropriate services are available to those who find themselves homeless so that they can make the choices required to play a full part in society.

I will come back to the work that has been carried out by the PSI Homelessness Steering Group over the last couple of years in a moment but I would like all that has been achieved by the Steering Group to be judged in the context of the original strategy which looked beyond the statistics and what it actually means to be homeless.

Whilst homelessness is obviously a housing issue, it is clearly more than just a housing issue.  

It can be the result of poor health, unemployment or poverty.

The homeless are often unfairly stigmatised.  Many judge the homeless as being the authors of their own downfall, that their own personal failings somehow have brought homelessness upon themselves rather than recognising the societal and structural factors that have had a significant causal effect.  Stereotypes exist in relation to the behaviour of the homeless that mitigate against the provision of services.  Stereotyping contributes to stigma and stigma leads to Social Exclusion.  Promoting Social Inclusion serves to give the homeless full recognition of their human rights and equality of opportunity in the same way as each and every one of us.

I have spoken on many occasions about how strongly I feel as to the importance of A Shared Future for Northern Ireland and you may wonder why I should mention it here in the context of homelessness.

I think we are all aware of its importance in the context of the need for ‘good relations’ between the two main community traditions in Northern Ireland but it is equally important that differences are addressed within these communities as well.  To fully embrace a shared future there is a need for civic leadership that promotes respect and diversity and this approach encouraging the integration of communities and challenging stigma applies equally well in respect of the homeless.

There is an old Irish proverb that states “it is in the shelter of each other that the people live”.  Our home is that ‘shelter’, it is where we feel protected; a safe place to live in.  When we talk about ‘each other’ this reflects the values of social inclusivity and the related values of support, care and respect.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every member of the PSI Homelessness Steering Group and all of those who were associated in any way with the various sub groups for their hard work, enthusiasm and wise counsel.

Over the next couple of hours there will be speakers from each of the sub groups who will give you a flavour of the work done by each.  The sub groups covered services for the homeless in relation to training, employment, health, young people and leaving institutions.  Such a wide ranging remit will give you a flavour of the practical outcomes.

Before I go I would like to say that however important policy and strategic objectives are, the most important people in all of this are the homeless themselves and those who are on the front line helping them directly.  

I would like to personally congratulate you for carrying out an important and valuable role for homeless people.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the morning.