Raising the voice of people with lived experience of homelessness

People with lived experience have unique insights into what works and what doesn’t. We have been working for years to ensure the voices of people with lived experience are heard.

Homeless Connect has been working with people who have lived experience for over 10 years, most of our work has been with people who use substances through the Regional Service User Network (RSUN). Commissioned by the Public Health Agency, RSUN advocated for service user involvement and we supported people to influence and shape policy and services up until September 2023. More recently, we have been focussed on developing our work with people who have lived experience of homelessness.

In 2022, we appointed a Lived Experience Co-ordinator for homelessness. This has been an invaluable addition to our team, helping us to make connections with people who have used and are currently using homelessness services. We have facilitated meetings attended by the NI Housing Executive and senior policymakers that have resulted in important and practical changes being implemented.