Communities minister Gordon Lyons visited the People’s Kitchen Belfast on Wednesday to see first hand the work it does supporting homeless people and rough sleepers.
The minister helped serve breakfast and spoke to some of the hundreds of people who use the service every week.
He also heard a stark message from representatives of the charity about the scale of the problem.
Paul McCusker (left) and Damian McNairney from to People’s Kitchen Belfast speak to the media outside the facility (David Young/PA)
Paul McCusker, from the People’s Kitchen, said it currently feeds more than 1,000 people a week.
The charity does not receive any funding from Stormont.
“I think we need to be taking this seriously, there’s an emergency on our streets,” Mr McCusker told reporters after the meeting.
He said the numbers of homeless people had increased “dramatically” in recent months.
“We also made that clear to the minister as well, that there’s a lot more vulnerable people in Belfast that are experiencing homelessness, and we need a commitment from his department to end rough sleeping,” he said.
Mr McCusker added: “I don’t believe there’s enough being done. I think long term, we need a more long-term look at this, because at the minute, it’s reacting to the crisis. We need to look at prevention, early intervention.
“We see the crisis every single day. We see the devastation that homeless men and women are having to face, families are having to face every single day.
“So we know there’s not enough being done, and we need a long-term commitment from the minister to look at that long-term approach,”
Mr Lyons insisted tackling homelessness was a priority.
He said one of the key ways his department was seeking to address the issue was by driving up the housing supply in Northern Ireland.
“I know that homelessness overall is a very serious issue right across Northern Ireland,” he told reporters.
“I think that’s why this has been the priority for me. The focus has been improving housing, improving housing supply in Northern Ireland and across all tenures as well.
“First and foremost, because of how many people that it affects, the impact that it has on them, and the cost that there is to the public purse by inaction, that’s why I’ve put the housing supply strategy in place.
“That’s why I have a Programme for Government commitment that we’re going to deal with housing. That’s why I’ve allocated additional money for homelessness, and particularly homelessness prevention in Northern Ireland.
“So I’m pleased with the work that we have been able to do since I have been in office. There’s clearly more to do, and that’s why I wanted to come here today to hear first-hand from those who are most affected, and to see how it is that we might be able to provide additional support.”
Mr Lyons said he was also committed to exploring ways Stormont could provide direct support to organisations such as the People’s Kitchen.