AQW 33388/22-27

Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 13/10/2025
Answered On Date: 28/10/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail how his Department can support people experiencing homelessness, given the findings of the Simon Community’s October 2025 report Childhood Adversity and Homelessness in Northern Ireland: Breaking the Cycle, which shows that diagnosed mental health conditions are around four times higher for single adults living in homeless hostels than the general population.

Answer:

My Department is committed to understanding and responding to the healthcare needs of those experiencing homelessness in Northern Ireland.

Those experiencing chronic homelessness can have diverse needs, mental and physical health issues, addictions, legal and justice issues. The individuals often require very pronounced, integrated and specialist support needs to facilitate an exit from homelessness.

We are committed to tackling homelessness, and the issues associated with this, through a variety of workstreams and strategies including the Preventing Harm, Empowering Recovery Substance Use Strategy, Mental Health Strategy and continued cross departmental collaboration with DfC and DoJ and sector engagement with key stakeholders. My Department continues to lead on a number of actions to tackle homelessness from a non-accommodation perspective via the Interdepartmental Homelessness Action Plan and contributes to the Housing Supply Strategy.

My officials are currently in the process of initiating a Health Homelessness Policy Advisory Group, bringing together key policy officials across the Department, and relevant ALBs to foster a high level of internal collaboration across the Department in regard to homelessness policy, improve joined up thinking with the aim of improving overall collaboration cross-Departmentally and delivering improved outcomes for those experiencing homelessness.

The Complex Lives initiative established by the Public Health Agency (PHA), Belfast City Council, and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, is operating and providing support to those who are homeless and at risk in the Belfast area. With a Multi-Disciplinary Team in place, it is providing a whole system, accountable care approach to supporting people experiencing multiple disadvantages with the aim of helping people engage, stabilise, and find a new way forward with their lives.

Further support includes the Belfast Inclusion Health Services hub, funded by the PHA, which provides multi-disciplinary community care, including dental, podiatry, mental health, and social work services. The Belfast Inclusion Health Service is a nurse-led multidisciplinary service set up to address the health and social care needs of those experiencing homelessness within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust area. Further inclusion nurses are also in place in all Trust areas, to support the needs of those experiencing homelessness.