The Housing Executive's vision is one in which housing plays its part in creating a peaceful, inclusive, prosperous and fair society and they are passionately committed to the development of shared and cohesive communities.
This is set against a backdrop where today 90% of NIHE estates (94% in Belfast) are more segregated than ever before; intimidation resulting in homelessness continues (586 last year, of which 387 paramilitary); 20 of the 88 Peace walls remaining in Belfast are owned by the Housing Executive. It is clear the cost of division runs into millions for housing providers alone. Yet, 80% of people would like to live in mixed neighbourhoods. Life and Times Survey.
In order to tackle these deep seated issues, the Housing Executive has worked in the area of re-imaging paramilitary murals. This work is tough and fraught with difficulties and today's talk will take you through the processes the Housing Executive use to engage communities and give you an overview of the impact they have made in communities where this has worked.