Rough sleeping
Rough sleeping in Northern Ireland
If you or someone you know is sleeping rough or at risk of sleeping rough, contact us as soon as possible on:
tel: 03448 920 900
or go to your local Housing Executive office
The Welcome Organisation have a Support Hub in Belfast which can provide help with basic needs including food, shower and laundry facilities.
You can find more information about the Support Hub here:
Welcome Organisation- Support Hub
If you are in Derry/Londonderry you can go to Foyle Haven Day Centre. Foyle Haven help adults experiencing homelessness.
You can find more information about the Day Centre here:
If you are supporting someone who is sleeping rough, The Welcome Organisation also have a Street Outreach service. They can provide help directly to those on the streets in Belfast.
You can find more information and how to contact the service here:
Welcome Organisation- Street Outreach
The Housing Executive carries out an exercise each year to see how many people are sleeping rough in Northern Ireland.
We conduct an annual count of people sleeping rough on the streets in some areas and make estimates in others.
This is similar to what is done in other areas of the UK.
You can read the report, which shows the numbers recorded since 2018, and how the count was done.
Rough Sleeping Figures – Northern Ireland (PDF 362 kB)
Street needs audit 2023
In 2023, the Housing Executive worked with local groups to learn more about people sleeping rough in three cities: Belfast, Newry and Derry/ Londonderry.
The main goals of the checks in these areas were to:
- understand the needs of people sleeping rough
- help them to find support
- learn why some people may not use available services
- improve partnership working with other groups to better help people on the streets
- use what we learn to improve services for people experiencing homelessness
The Housing Executive wants to use this information to better help people with complex needs.
You can download the report here:
A previous Street Needs Audit was carried out in Belfast in 2016 to understand the reality of street activity and rough sleeping in Belfast.
You can read the full report here:
You can also download a shorter version: