Social housing: Disabled teen moves into new home for Christmas

Social housing: Disabled teen moves into new home for Christmas

BBC Curtis Herron is pictured sitting in his wheelchair next to the Christmas tree as he holds a "Home Sweet Home" card. He has dark, short curly hair and is wearing a blue jumper with a white shirt.BBC
Curtis and his parents have been on a waiting list for an accessible social home for six years

The family of a teenager who has muscular dystrophy and autism say they have experienced a sense of relief after moving into new north Belfast social home before Christmas.

Sixteen-year-old Curtis Herron uses a wheelchair and his parents have been on a waiting list for an accessible social home for six years.

The family had been living in Whiteabbey in a house that was difficult for Curtis to get around in as the doorways were too narrow.

Curtis was one of 48,000 households waiting for a social home in Northern Ireland – 36,000 of those are deemed to be in housing stress.

Additional money was allocated by Stormont for social housing in October’s monitoring round, after a cut earlier in the year.

The cut had meant Northern Ireland was on track for about 400 new social homes – well short of the 2,000 target.

But the October uplift has improved optimism for some housing associations.

Curtis said the wait for a social home had been really frustrating for him and his parents.

“There were only two rooms I could get into [in the family’s previous home], that was it and there were five rooms,” he said.

“It was unfair when people could get into the room, you’re left behind.

“You’re sat there and you feel a bit useless in a way, because you could see people standing but can’t get in.”

Bungalow adaptions

But his family have now moved into a new Clanmil home at Alloa Street in north Belfast in time to celebrate Christmas there.

“It was a pretty close situation. Even though we were told we would be, the dates were getting pushed back and I was in my head thinking: ‘Are we going to get this house before Christmas or not?” Curtis said.

“So it feels good that we are in somewhere suitable, more room, can store more stuff, it’s amazing to get the place before Christmas.”

There are adaptations to the bungalow to give Curtis more independence – for example the kitchen counter can be lowered which has allowed him to cook dinner for the family.

“I can get in to every single room, there isn’t any tight spaces or gaps. It means things are easier, if I’m in a small place I don’t get much quality of life,” he said.

“But here, I have a back garden which I can actually go out and have a quality of life and a front garden.”

Curtis said he would like to see more social homes built to this standard to try and tackle the huge number of families on a waiting list here.

“I don’t get around Belfast a lot, but I know there aren’t a lot of houses like this about and that lowers the chance of people getting one. I think there should be more,” he said.

Jim McShane with short white hair stares at the camera as he wears a black "Ark Housing" branded coat, a white shirt and a navy tie. In the background is grass, trees and a silver metal gate.

Jim McShane is now feeling more optimistic about the housing figures

Ark Housing association has plans for a scheme that includes 45 social homes in Dungannon and chief executive Jim McShane is now feeling more optimistic about it following the October monitoring round.

“We hope to be on site, thanks to additional funding that was made available at the end of this year, that means the project is in a much better position of proceeding at the end of March,” he said.

There are 2,200 families on the waiting list for a social home in Mid Ulster and 600 families in Dungannon.

Construction is expected to take up to two years and with homes being allocated in 2027.

“At the start of this year the picture looked extremely gloomy. Initially we were advised there would be 450 homes which is a fraction of what there would be on a usual basis,” he said.

“More recently towards the end of this year, we are looking at approximately 1,400 new homes.”

Still some way to go

While the picture has improved slightly, there is still some way to go.

“It is frustrating that we are falling short of what is needed, the waiting list is still increasing by 3,000 families a year so it’s vitally important that we do more,” he said.

“The crux of it, in terms of delivery, is going to be dependent on finance.

“To deliver 2,500 social homes per year will require a government pot of money of approximately £250m per year.”

“I’m a bit more hopeful, there is a recognition of this as a major issue from the executive, housing has been elevated to having its own outcome in the Programme for Government,” he added.

“So hopefully going forward, our outlook is a little more positive, but it’s important that ambition is backed up by finances and forward planning in terms of budgets.”

Seamus Leheny with short blonde hair is pictured staring at the camera wearing a black blazer, blue shirt and red tie.

Seamus Leheny said it is “still a very challenging year”

Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations chief executive Seamus Leheny said despite the additional funding in November “it’s still a very challenging year”.

“We will do well to deliver between 1,300-1,400 new social homes this year. Going forward, we need to get that money up front at the start of the financial year,” he said.

“The target in the housing supply is realistic but only if we start building at volume today.

“I would like to see us building 3,000 new homes a year, but we’ve got to be realistic about the squeezed budget that we have, land availability, NI Water and the planning process is far too slow.

“I think we should be delivering 3,000 new homes a year but we’ve got to work within the confines of those things that are holding us back.”

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has published a Housing Supply Strategy with a target of building 33,000 new social homes over the next 14 years – that’s about 2,200 a year.

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