A desperate family of six faces spending Christmas on the streets after fleeing violence.
Mum Kathleen Mongans, Dad Brendan Francis Quinn, and their four kids must leave their current property in less than three weeks after a council decision announcing they are not entitled to any more accommodation. The family appealed the outcome, but this was rejected. So now the distraught parents face living on the streets—or losing their children.
Kathleen told the Mirror : “My greatest fear in life is something I can barely even say and it’s all I think about. I’m constantly scared about whether my children will get removed from me if we become homeless and I simply can’t live without my children. That would destroy me, it would destroy us all as a family. I’ve already had a breakdown and I just know I can’t go on like this.”
The family are from Belfast but fled to Sefton, Merseyside, in April when Brendan faced death threats. Kathleen believes returning to Northern Ireland would put all the family’s lives at risk.
They declared themselves homeless at their local Council, which arranged temporary shelter while checking their housing application and probing the history behind their migration. But Sefton Council spoke to authorities in Belfast and concluded that the family is not at significant enough risk for further housing, whether permanent or temporary.
The terrified mum explained: “We fled from violence. We cannot go back to Belfast as my partner will be shot, and that’s the threat we’re living under. In Belfast, they don’t come knocking on your door in the middle of the day and announce they’re going to hurt you. We were threatened, so we packed up and left and didn’t look back. Brendan’s dad passed away two weeks ago after battling cancer, and he couldn’t even go back for his funeral.
“We’re being told to go back to Belfast, but that’s like signing our own death warrant… We’ve got no family members that can help us with that. We’ve tried every avenue that we could think of. We need help and we’re pleading to anyone out there who can help us in this situation. All I want is for our family to be kept together.”
Kathleen explained the reasons they had to flee Belfast and said: “We were told Brendan would be shot and killed and that there’s a price on his head… We are Catholics and we are also Travellers, but we were moved into an area in Belfast where we were told we are not welcome. We couldn’t go to police, we couldn’t go to anyone.”
Claims of a life threat against Brendan were backed by a Belfast City Council officer who had previously worked with the family and the local authority’s news service obtained a letter from the official, which was sent to Sefton Council backing up the family’s case.
The document detailed the intimidation they faced as Catholics and members of the Traveller community, with a stark warning mentioned: “Kathleen told me that they had been threatened to get out, if the warning is ignored an imminent attack will happen.”
Despite conversations with various housing and law enforcement groups in Northern Ireland and examination of the Belfast City Council officer’s note, the council stated conclusively: “[We] have been unable to find any evidence that supports your claims that you were fleeing violence from your previous address in Belfast […or] there was any significant risk to you or any of your family members.”
The review letter from Belfast Local Authority Housing Directorate insisted it was safe for the family to return to the city, calling the concern a ‘perceived risk’. It stated: “[the Belfast city council worker] did not witness anything […] but that the locals do not like outsiders [and] was unable to give any direct accounts of what [they] believed had occurred.”
Moreover, in the decision letter, it was noted: “Further inquiries were conducted and [the Belfast City Council officer] was unable to provide any evidence that you were at risk.”
A Sefton Council spokesperson said, “While we can’t comment on individual circumstances, as with all homelessness applications, the council discharges its statutory duties as defined in homelessness legislation to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.”
It also advised: “Households that find themselves in circumstances where their accommodation is, or has, become insecure should contact the local authority as soon as possible. Details can be found on our website.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond.Sign up to our daily newsletter.