Belfast family who say they fled city due to threats face being left homeless ahead of Christmas

A Belfast family who say they fled the city due to threats face being left homeless in the run-up to Christmas.

The family-of-six ended up in Liverpool amid death threats in their native city, but been told to quit their temporary accommodation in the city.

Kathleen Mongan and Brendan Francis Quinn claim they travelled to Merseyside on April 11 after becoming subject to a campaign of violence and harassment in Belfast. They presented themselves as homeless to Sefton Council who put them up in temporary accommodation while their claim for housing was assessed and circumstances leading up to their arrival reviewed.

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The couple have four daughters and one son - one adult daughter lives in Belfast and the four remaining children live with them in temporary housing in Litherland. Kathleen said their living situation has been really hard on the family, but the kids have really responded to the stability and routine since moving into their current home and starting at school.

Asked why the family left Belfast, Kathleen 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.”

The family were moved to their second temporary home in August and it’s the house they currently live in. However, after an assessment and an appeals process to determine whether the family had made themselves ‘intentionally homeless’, Kathleen and Brendan were informed their appeal had been rejected and were issued with a notice to vacate the house by November 26.

A spokesperson for Sefton Council 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. 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.”

The prospect of becoming homeless has impacted every family member, but Kathleen summed up all their worries when she said: “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.”

Kathleen’s claims about the threat to Brendan’s life were supported by a Belfast City Council officer who worked with the family when they lived in Northern Ireland. The LDRS has seen a letter from this officer sent to Sefton Council in support of the family’s appeal.

The letter describes how the family were placed into a community where they were ‘targeted’ for being both Catholic and members of the Traveller community, stating: “Kathleen told me that they had been threatened to get out, if the warning is ignored an imminent attack will happen. This isn’t the first time that the family has had to move due to intimidation.”

The ECHO has seen the review decision letter sent by Sefton Council who investigated all of Ms Mongan’s claims and contacted various housing and law enforcement organisations in Northern Ireland - including a review of the letter sent by the Belfast City Council officer. The letter stated: “[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 decision letter added: “Further inquiries were conducted and [the Belfast City Council officer] was unable to provide any evidence that you were at risk.”

Nonetheless, Kathleen maintains the threat is real and said the lack of evidence is directly related to the specific circumstances found in Belfast, she added: “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.”

Kathleen’s children attend two schools in Sefton - one primary and one secondary - and both of them wrote supporting letters to Sefton Council both seen by the ECHO. The family also had an assessment letter from Dr Venu Rajaratnam at The Strand Medical Centre in Bootle which detailed the emotional stress suffered by Kathleen and her children.

One of the options being explored by Kathleen and her family is the private rented market, but said they have no money for a deposit and no chance of getting a guarantor due to the desperation of their circumstances. Kathleen said: “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.”

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