Amina arrived in Northern Ireland as an asylum seeker in October 2021. She was initially offered accommodation in a hotel in Newtownabbey. Then she was moved to another hotel in Belfast and relocated again to a shared house. 

In October 2023, Amina was delighted when finally she was granted refugee status. She was looking forward to finding a job and settling down after all the years of insecurity, of being moved from place to place and waiting for her case to be heard. However, this was when her challenges with housing became worse. 

Amina was given 28 days to find alternative accommodation, but without a job, a guarantor or a deposit this was impossible. Towards the end of the 28 days the Housing Executive accepted her as homeless. She spent 7 days ‘sofa surfing’ before she was offered accommodation in a temporary shelter in November 2023. 

Amina was quick to secure agency work and by June 2024 she had secured a permanent job which she enjoys. However, in July 2024, she was informed she must move out of thetemporary accommodation. Once again, without a guarantor or a deposit a private rental was impossible. She turned again to the Housing Executive and was offered a room in a mixed gender hostel but because she was in employment she would be charged a rent of £1200 per month. This high monthly charge appears to be based on the cost of a homeless hostel providing a high level of support to residents with chaotic lives and complex needs. There is a difference between people who need homelessness services and working people on low incomes who simply need access to a privately rented affordable home. Amina does not require the intensive support of a hostel key worker. She simply needs an affordable home. A mixed gender hostel, sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities with men with complex needs,is not culturally appropriate or safe for a Muslim woman. She does not earn enough money to pay such a high monthly fee so she could not accept the offer, but the Housing Executive regard her has having declined her only option. Amina has requested a review and HAPANI has been supporting her and Housing Rights is working on her case. 

Since July 2024 Amina has been homeless. She can’t access affordable private rental accommodation as she does not have a guarantor. If she gave up her job, she would be allocated housing, but this means she would be caught in a benefit trap. Amina wants to work and she also wants a place to call home.

Today she is one of the ‘hidden homeless’ who are ‘sofa surfing’. She does not have a key to the front door of the house where she stays. She does not have the freedom to come and go as she pleases, and after working on a late shift she often has problems getting into the house because the other residents are asleep. She says, ‘I get home from work after midnight and everyone is in bed and I don’t want to waken them. I have no key if I just want to rest in the house during the day.’ She does not feel safe being alone on the street at night, especially with the risk of racist threats and attacks. 

Amina says, ‘Sometimes I feel like just giving up. I don’t think they will ever give me anywhere to live. I want to work and I want to pay my rent but landlords want a deposit and a guarantor and when I don’t speak English they don’t even consider me. Sometimes I wish they just returned me to asylum seeker status because at least I would have a place to live.’

Lul shares her story:

‘When I came to Northern Ireland, I was welcomed. I was provided a place to stay. I was given some money to live on. 

I feel very good and very grateful. Since I was welcomed and given a house, I want to study and I want to work and contribute to society.

When I was new here, I had a challenge when I had to go to the hospital. I don’t speak English and when I was discharged from the hospital I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what to do and they said they would book a taxi for me, but I couldn’t find the taxi and I didn’t know how to call them. It was a rainy day and I had to walk from the Royal Hospital the whole way to the place I was staying.

Northern Irish people are very hospitable and it’s a welcoming society. I think that it’s a very good place for me to live. The people are very good but the challenge for me is learning English so I can communicate. I’m learning the language now so I can become more integrated.  

Language is the key, so I would ask the government to create  a strategy so that people can learn for the first five years. If we can study the culture and the language this will help with our transition. That’s the number one priority. If a person cannot communicate in the language of the country it’s like being a deaf person.

The other issue is housing. I live in temporary accommodation and it’s damp and hazardousfor health. I really don’t think this is good for my child who is allergic. It’s not up to standard or a safe environment. Housing is a big challenge  for me.’

‘Asha’ tells her story: 

‘I came here in November 2009 to ask for asylum. When you are an asylum seeker, you can’t work for a long time. You can’t do what other people do. It’s very, very difficult. I went to the court many times for reviews to get my status. After many long years of waiting I got my refugee status in 2017. After that I thought everything would go well but everything is very slow. 

Belfast is a nice place. It’s safe and the people are nice  and welcoming. The only problem is the weather! It’s not like  my country here, it’s safe, and has good education and health care.

When I got my refugee status in 2017 they kicked me out of the house and I was homeless. So I moved into the Women’s Aid hostel. For more than six years I’ve been waiting for a house. It’s very slow. Living in just two rooms with my children is

difficult sometimes and they ask me, ‘Mommy when will we go

to a house?’ and I say, ‘I don’t know, you have to wait. One day.’

I would like to get social housing in a safe area in South Belfast. I’ve gone many times to Sinn Fein and the DUP and the Housing Executive. I go to the office every day, to explain what I need. But still there is no change. Sometimes I give up and sometimes I say ‘I won’t give up! Maybe one day you will get it.’ I try everything but it’s very slow. I live in the homeless hostel and I see local people arriving in the homeless system and after a few months they get a place to stay. It doesn’t feel fair. But I will wait and one day, maybe I will get a house. 

Before I came here I didn’t speak English at all. I went to  Belfast Met for nine months andI’m going to English classes  at night time at the Presbyterian Church. My English is improving and it’s easier to talk to people, to say what I want or if I have a problem.

I don’t understand how the system works. You know, when you  had a hard life before, you think when you get refugee status,  everything will be easy, but everything is very, very slow.Still I never give up. I say, ‘Your day is coming, maybe  tomorrow or maybe next year or maybe next week.’ Some people, when they get their status, move to another place. But I will stay here forever, until one day my country is safe.’  

‘Sara’ shares her story:

‘I came to this country in 2014. I felt welcome when I came to Northern Ireland. I was not given refugee status at the beginning because I had been a refugee in Italy. I had to wait for five years and I went to the immigration tribunal. In 2018, when my Italian refugee status expired, the Home Office gave me another chance and at the beginning of 2019 they gave me permission to stay in the country. The years of waiting caused me a lot of health problems because I had a lot of anxiety about my future, and also my child became sick.  

After I got refugee status, I was offered temporary accommodation in a hostel. After six months, I was offered  long-term accommodation in social housing. Then a racist came and painted ‘OUT’ on my front door. The police came and said I had to flee the house and goback to the hostel. I didn’t want to leave my house. I’m from a very difficult place and I wanted to stay but they said ‘This is not safe for you and we want to protect you’. I was so shocked because I thought I was safe but I was threatened trapped. I had to go back to the homeless hostel and I’ve been living there for nearly five years. The people who manage thehostel are very nice and assist me with anything I need.

Language is another difficulty I face, so I’m trying to learn  the language now. I have a lot of medical conditions and I bring my son to the Homework Club at HAPANI. If I get extra support for my child at home or at school that would be very helpful and then also get a place to call home. I hope my future is to study, communicate in the language in this country and improve my situation. This country has welcomed me and I’m very grateful.’