A homelessness support group in Co Fermanagh has recently completed seven walks around towns in the county over seven weeks to raise awareness of hidden homelessness.
First Housing Enniskillen coordinator Maria Thompson was one of those involved in organising the walks, which allowed the group’s staff to visit those in more rural areas of the county.
Maria warned that while there may be very little street homelessness in Co Fermanagh, the dangers of hidden homelessness were evident on their visits to towns outside of Enniskillen.
“There is very little street homelessness in Fermanagh, it tends to be mostly hidden homelessness,” Maria told MyFermanagh.
“Hidden homelessness is where people are doubling up, they are sofa surfing or where they stay with other family members in overcrowded homes.
“It’s where people don’t have a home of their own and they just move between friends and acquaintances.
“It’s a very insecure and stressful way for people to live their lives, often those people are vulnerable to begin with or there are issues of mental health or addiction.
“That exacerbates their condition because they don’t have a steady base to address their issues.”
The seven walks were undertaken by staff from the support group, in Kesh, Irvinestown, Lisnaskea, Lisbellaw, Ballinamallard, Belcoo and Enniskillen, to mark Homelessness Awareness Week 2021.
Maria added: “We’re based in Enniskillen but we also try to make sure that the service is accessible to more rural parts of the county.
“This was one of the ways of doing that, by going out into different parts of the county and being available for people to hear about our services.
“We wanted to bring this service to more rural areas, to assess and see if there are any signs of homelessness and to speak to people either to give advice or information as to how to refer in to the service.
“The whole staff team got involved, we chose a variety of times and did different locations across the county.
“It’s important to raise awareness so that people know where they can get help, that they don’t have to continue living in very precarious living situations.”
