A community group from Omagh who travel to Belfast weekly to help feed the homeless have said it is ‘heartbreaking’ to see what is happening on the city’s streets.
15 people are believed to have died on the city’s streets in a matter of months, with campaigners calling for action to protect vulnerable people in the city centre.
One group of volunteers have started travelling from the Co Tyrone town every week in order to provide food and a listening ear to those who may need it.
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Local mental health campaigner Andy Campbell is behind the group, and says many of those who have died on the streets in Belfast had been using the service.
“We had been to Belfast for a number of events and had noticed the amount of homeless people on the streets and felt that we as a group, could assist them by providing hot food, especially during the winter,” Andy told Belfast Live.
“We initially started our outreach as a Christmas fundraiser which was to last for a few weeks, then decided to expand the service and continue with it as we recognised that the need was there all year round.
“The current situation with the increase in the number of deaths over the last 6 weeks, there is a sense of sadness and fear both within the community and the outreaches/charities that support them.
“Some of those who have died have been our service users or relatives of our service users and there is a sense of urgency among the various groups to do more and offer additional support in any way that we can. It's heartbreaking.”
Andy added the people that come to make use of the service come from all walks of life and said it was important that they receive help.
“The service users come from all walks of life. People who are older, lonely and just want someone to talk to, those who are struggling with addiction, those who have been made homeless due to circumstances beyond their control i.e. loss of home through fire or debt, ex-prisoners who are trying to start over.
“Anyone who would like to join us on a Thursday night would be more than welcome. If they message the group on the Facebook page, Together With Solace , we'll get back to them.
“We are grateful to anyone who can donate money to help cover the cost of fuel & items to make up snack packs like crisps, chocolate bars, tins of coke, biscuits, non-perishable foods.. At present myself & our volunteers are self funding the service.”
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