‘Homelessness is difficult to see… so people don’t realise it is there’

SLATE has been a subtle, but integral part of community life in Omagh since its first opened services here in 2003.

For nearly 20 years, the group has helped hundreds of young people either escape or overcome homelessness.

Last year, around 16,000 households in the North sought assistance from the Housing Executive because of homelessness, and while single men make up the largest single category of people experiencing homelessness, just under one third are families.

Until recently, the problem of homelessness has not been an obvious one in Omagh, but it has been a constant one.

Dozens of people in the area, both young and old, find themselves in extreme housing difficulty every year, but relatively few of these people end up ‘on the street’.

This is partly due to the work carried out by organisations like Slate, who help find young people find temporary, and eventually permanent accommodation, before their situation spirals.

To continue helping young people in our community, Slate has opened a new premises in what was formerly Reynold’s music shop.

Tony McQuillan is a director of Shelter NI, the organisation which runs the Slate project.

He explains why homelessness week represents an important date on our collective calendar.

“While homelessness has never been as glaring of an issue in Omagh as it is in cities like Belfast, you would be surprised by the number of local people who at some point come to depend on our services,” said Mr McQuillan.

“The nature of homelessness is often invisible and silent; it is difficult to see so people don’t realise it is there, thus, there is little conversation about it.”

Mr McQuillan emphasised this as the crucial reason why homelessness week is so important; it is a time assigned to paying attention to homelessness and thinking about the different people whom it affects.

“For many years, Slate operated locally from a premises in Strathroy,” he continued, “and we have helped young people from a broad range of backgrounds, with a variety of needs.

“Some of the people who engage with our services have come out of the care system, while for some a family situation has developed whereby they can no longer live at home, and others have difficulties with substance of alcohol abuse.”

In the last year, Slate has helped find accommodation for 19 young people in Omagh, and worked with ten more.

“Now that we have obtained a more central premises in the town, I hope we will reach even more young people who need our help, while continuing to provide support for the adolescents and young adults we are already working with,” Mr McQuillan concluded.