A homelessness campaigner has said long-term change is needed to avoid deaths on the streets in Northern Ireland, after a young woman died in Belfast on Thursday.
The young woman's death was confirmed by the PSNI on Friday, after her body was found on North Street in the city centre.
It is believed she was 19, from Bangor and had only been on the streets of Belfast from relatively recently.
Read more: North Street Belfast: PSNI investigate sudden death in city
Sean Martin Kane, who campaigns for the homeless, said it was a case of not enough being done to tackle the root causes of homelessness.
"I was devastated to hear a young woman had died, it's 2022, it shouldn't be happening," he told Belfast Live.
"They're too busy putting people into hotels with no supervision or anything, no workers to understand what the people are going through.
"They'd just rather palm them off somewhere rather than really sit and listen to what they're going through."
It is believed to be the 13th such death on the streets of Belfast in recent months.
Mr Kane said that there was a focus on reactive services rather than laying out a long-term strategy for eliminating homelessness.
He said part of that is based around better housing opportunities and keeping targeted services open for people in that situation.
"To make it worse, they closed the only female hostel down in Northern Ireland, which was Regina Coeli," he said.
"They promised the workers there would be two hostels, one by the end of May and one in Spring, and nothing's happened and we're now in July.
"They need to get all the homeless service groups that work on the streets, not the service providers, the groups who go out on outreach, who go out and feed the people at night, they need to come together and listen to us.
"We have a plan but they won't listen to us - the plan is to set up rehabs and things like that, for people to get the help they need."
It is that proactive approach to the problem that Mr Kane says is needed by those in power, otherwise more tragedy would be seen in Belfast and further afield.
"If they don't address the mental health or whatever underlying issues they have, they're (homeless people) never going to come out of homelessness," he said.
"They're going to be stuck in that wee circle.
"It happened with myself, I was homeless there on and off for 16 years.
"Only three years ago, I seen the light and thought 'I can't do this anymore, I have to change my life or I'm going to end up dead'.
"Now I'm fighting for the rights for others to be treated the same way I was treated three years ago when someone listened to me and what I was actually going through."
Liz Rocks is the Services Co-ordinator with Belfast Homeless Service.
When she spoke to Belfast Live, there was real pain and anger in what she said and how those in the sector feel let down by those in power.
"It's getting to the point where people are just getting angry," she said.
"They're the ones who are in a position to change services and potentially get things in place.
"I just feel they don't care anymore, they can say what they want to me, but people are not getting what they need and they don't feel they have a voice."
Liz said even the services in place sometimes put barriers in the way of those who need help most.
"We had a young man, 22, who came to us on Thursday night and he had nowhere to go," she said.
"He was offered a place that wasn't suitable, that he felt he couldn't go to it, he's only 22.
"He was then offered another place, but he had to have £47 up front - who the hell is homeless and has £47?".
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