Voluntary and Community Sector Support Infrastructure Consultation

In November 2023, the Department for Communities launched a consultation on draft proposals to support the Voluntary and Community Sector in Northern Ireland. According to the Department, these proposals are “geared towards the achievement of a clear ambition for what joined up government support can help achieve in the sector, underpinned by shared values and practices which aim to support the relationship between government and the sector.”

Our Response

As the representative body for the homelessness sector in this society, we have made a submission in response to this consultation. The Voluntary and Community Sector in NI makes an invaluable contribution in helping to support people who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness here. It is vital that effective support infrastructure is in place to ensure that these organisations are able to play their role as we seek to take the journey to ending homelessness.

Our response is supportive of the draft proposals outlined in the consultation document and makes some constructive suggestions on how the draft proposals could be strengthened going forward. We look forward to engaging with the Department in the months and years to come as these proposals are further developed and implemented.

You can read our response here and the consultation documents here.