Housing Rights responds to Draft Homelessness Strategy  

Housing Rights has responded to the Housing Executive’s (NIHE) draft homelessness strategy 2022-2027. The strategy considers how homelessness can be prevented and alleviated. 

Working together to end homelessness 

Housing Rights agrees with the strategy’s goal of preventing homelessness. We believe collaboration is needed to achieve this goal.

The strategy’s focus on collaboration could be strengthened by 

• placing a duty on statutory bodies to cooperate with each other.  
• creating a directory of services that prevent homelessness to make sure people know about these services and how to access them 
• reviewing NIHE’s short-term funding model to make sure it supports collaborative working 

Involving people with lived experience in solutions 

We welcome NIHE’s intention to engage with people with lived experience of homelessness. We think this should be the fourth objective in the strategy. But we’d like to see more detail about NIHE will identify and engage with people who have experienced homelessness.  

We think this commitment could be strengthened if 

• the strategy adopts a co-design approach.  
• NIHE dedicates sufficient time and resources to engaging with people with lived experience of homelessness 

Making the private rented sector fit for purpose 

We believe that difficulties in the private rented sector make it an unsuitable solution for homeless households. We’d like to see the strategy address the costs and conditions in this sector.