Retreat Housing
Retreat Housing is a community-led housing initiative providing settled housing and integration support for newly recognised refugees from the Horn of Africa residing in Belfast.
In partnership with:
Why is the project needed?
After being granted refugee status, individuals have a short period (now reverted to only 28 days) to leave asylum accommodation, which often leads to homelessness for many.
Refugees face long waits for social housing and encounter barriers to private rentals, primarily due to affordability issues and prejudice from landlords. In many cases, the only option is overcrowded and poor-quality housing, leading to poor health and wellbeing.
Without a settled home, newcomers are unable to access employment, as employers are often reluctant to hire individuals without a fixed address, which affects their ability to settle into the community.
The Housing Solution
The Phoenix Project combines specialist support and housing for male ex-offenders who have identified enduring and complex mental health problems, including those with dual diagnoses of mental health and substance use disorders.
By bridging the gap between prison and the community, the project aims to ensure that participants have a secure place to live and assistance to manage mental health challenges, reducing the risk of reoffending.
As part of the model, individuals are expected to stay in the property for 3 to 6 months or until they are ready for independent living. After this period, they will continue to receive community outreach support for an extended time.
Dedicated support staff will provide tailored one-on-one and group support to help individuals develop the skills necessary to reintegrate into the community. This includes managing their mental health, accessing employment opportunities, navigating legal and administrative issues, and improving digital literacy.
The Phoenix Project was born out of Commonweal's Call for New Ideas programme
Key Statistics
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In September 2024, 2,632 asylum seekers were supported in Northern Ireland, coming from at least 68 different countries. The top five nationalities were Somali, Eritrean, Syrian, Sudanese and Iranian.
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Across the UK, refugee homelessness increased by XXXXX
Project progress
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Servol and Commonweal launched the West Midlands-based project in November 2025.
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Over the next three years, researchers at Just Ideas will evaluate the learnings from this project, focusing on the impact XXX
Updates on the project's progress and learnings will be posted on this page.
"Community-led housing is a powerful new tool for refugee integration, providing long-term solutions to housing instability. By involving refugees with lived experience in the leadership and delivery of the projects, it provides safe, stable, and culturally appropriate homes for them".
Suleiman Abdulahi, Founder and Director of HAPAN