Homelessness is rising in Northern Ireland, with thousands of households presenting as homeless each year. Between April and September 2025 alone, more than 8,200 households reported homelessness.

When people are homeless in Northern Ireland, the Housing Associations can place them in temporary accommodation, including hotels and bed & breakfasts, while they wait for social housing or longer-term solutions. This type of living comes with unique challenges and practical difficulties such as a lack of basic facilities.  Many hotel placements don’t include kitchens or allow cooking appliances to be used in the rooms, which makes it hard to cook meals or store food. This can lead to poor nutrition and increased food costs.

When a homeless household includes children as many single-parent households do, there are added pressures and potential consequences such as lack of space for families & belongings, not childproofed, and can pose a Health and Safety hazard for toddlers. These types of added pressure can impact severely on people’s mental health. Being stuck in temporary accommodation (like hotels) can disrupt schooling, routines and emotional stability.

Living without stable housing is highly stressful. Uncertainty about where you’ll sleep next, how safe it is coupled with financial strain and past trauma (which many homeless people have experienced), can worsen anxiety, depression, substance dependency, and other health challenges.

The financial strain that being homeless causes is another challenge, without cooking or laundry facilities, people have no choice but to spend more on meals, transport and basic needs, these expenses are often another thing they can’t afford, worsening financial hardship.

Without stable, secure housing, people often face a cycle of: Poor health outcomes, difficulty maintaining work or education, social isolation and exclusion and increased risk of chronic homelessness.  These impacts can be lifelong, affecting physical health, emotional wellbeing, earning potential and social connections.

Research in Northern Ireland has found that women who have experienced violence including domestic and sexual abuse is a major factor of homelessness amongst women, as they have been forced to flee their homes.  The combination of poverty, caregiving responsibilities, trauma exposure and limited resources means that homelessness hits women single parents particularly hard.

The consortium understands the challenges that these women are facing and work tirelessly with the N.I Executive on every platform to ensure that their voices and lived experiences are heard.