VIEW issue 4 2012:VIEW issue 4 2012 29/04/2012 16:54 Page 2


VIEW, Issue four, 2012


VIEW Welfare row


Page 8 Children’s Commissioner clashes with Minister in dispute over effects of the Welfare Reform Bill


Sound of music


Pages 10-11 Ugandan woman Donna Namukasa tells how she first got involved with the multicultural group Beyond Skin


Lottery boost


Website: viewdigital.org CONTENTS


Page 2


‘Right’ words


Page 14 Lighthouse co-ordinator Jo Murphy talks about the need for sensitivity when writing about suicides


Top marks


Pages 18-19 Pupil Angel (left) is just one of the many children who are being helped out at the Sandy Row homework club


Going digital


Pages 12-13 Paul Johnston tells of his delight after Monkstown Boxing Club secured vital funding from the Big Lottery organisation


Editorial By Brian Pelan, editor T


men and women lying on the streets in all kinds of weather. Many factors, including marital-break-ups, debt, alcoholism and mental health issues, have con- tributed to people losing their homes and being forced to exist on the streets. It is not an existence that any of them would


have willingly chosen. A recent report on BBC news about an increase


in the number of women who were homeless led me to an organisation called Welcome, which has headquarters in west Belfast. Director Sandra Moore outlined her views on


We have all seen in Belfast and elsewhere the


he death of a young homeless man in Belfast recently prompted my decision in this issue to do a piece on homelessness.


the issue of homelessness and the steps that should be taken if society really wants to put an end to the problem. Following my discussion with her, I visited a hos-


tel in west Belfast and was genuinely moved by what I saw. Located opposite St Peter’s Cathedral, the Wel-


David Thoreau once described as “those who lead lives of quiet desperation”. Meals are served at the hostel three times a day


come hostel was a hive of activity as the homeless from near and far came to be fed and watered by the staff. It really is a respite for what the writer Henry


and at night-time an Outreach service, staffed by Welcome workers, goes on the streets to provide


assistance to men and women, who can be found sleeping in doorways and under bridges. The stark images used in this issue to highlight


the plight of the homeless were provided by pho- tographer Donal McCann. One of the men I spoke to at the hostel said he


would be dead if it wasn’t for the likes of organisa- tions such as Welcome. Another man said we should never give abuse to the homeless as one day that could be ourselves. It seems amazing in a society that can provide


Page 20 Leading charities across Northern Ireland are set to help viewers make the switchover to digital television


Welcome to VIEW, the online publication for the community/voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.


faster and faster broadband and all sorts of other technological developments that we still have homeless people on our streets. Affordable social housing should surely become a priority if we really want to tackle this issue.


Alternative formats – audio, DAISY, mp3, braille, large print or Word doc (like the above) produced by: RNIB NI Accessible Media. T: 028 9050 1888 E: amni@rnib.org.uk W: www.accessiblemedia.co.uk


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