Building shared communities

Communities cannot flourish where fear takes hold. Yet racism, sectarianism and intimidation continue to affect neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland, placing people and families at risk, writes Pól Callaghan, Executive Director of Customer and Communities at Clanmil Housing.

In summer 2025, sectarian attacks on homes in north Belfast brought this reality into sharp focus as have other racist hate crimes. Families living in Annalee Street, who moved into new homes only months earlier, were targeted through threats, intimidation and damage to property. For those affected, the impact was immediate, causing fear, disruption and the sudden loss of safety in their own homes.

Research from Queen’s University Belfast has highlighted the continuing impact intimidation has on communities and the wider housing system. In a region already facing acute housing pressures, intimidation places further strain on limited supply, forcing families from their homes and creating avoidable displacement.

Housing providers are responding collectively. Through the Housing for All Shared Housing Programme, supported by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Department for Communities, the sector continues to invest in neighbourhoods to promote integration and good relations. We have also launched a new project, Common Ground, supported by the SEUPB through PEACEPLUS to help communities build trust, resilience, and shared opportunity.

But the events last summer remind us that more must be done. Interface communities often experience the greatest pressures, where housing need intersects with historic division.

A dedicated housing programme focused on interface areas would provide long-term investment to support residents and communities, strengthen neighbourhood stability and ensure homes remain places of safety.

Because housing is not just about supply. It is also about security, dignity and the foundations of a better, shared future.

To find out more about Clanmil, visit:
www.clanmil.org.uk