Located in the heart of Belfast, with views overlooking the very best of the city, Farset International is inspiring men and women, young and old, to make life-changing decisions.
Helping those who have found themselves homeless, through many difference reasons, the Farset team on the Springfield Road provide a safe space, somewhere that their residents can wind down, make new friends, learn skills that can be brought into the workplace, and prepare to move into their own place.
Belfast Live met with those who are behind the ethos of Farset, with a passion for helping people achieve their full potential. Some residents also spoke openly about their experiences of being homeless, and how their lives have changed through Farset.
Read more: Former homeless man who 'hit rock bottom' turns life around to run own business
Paul McMichael, Farset director, said that no matter who seeks their help, regardless of their background, Farset will do all it can to provide support for that person.
"We have 39 rooms here and are contracted through the Housing Executive and would get referrals from them," Paul said.
"Farset as an entity, as a building, looks after those people's needs, but is only contacted for the accommodation.
"We get funded an amount of money, per person, per night for accommodation. That doesn't include anything else. It doesn't include food, laundry, toiletries. People come here, literally with the clothes on their backs and a plastic bag of maybe a pair of pyjamas. That is it.
"Farset provides accommodation and we have staff on 24 hours a day and they are equipped to cater to their needs. They all have different needs at different times. The end games for us is to get them into a property.
"We put them through courses, and they are registered, so that if a person walks into a job interview, they would be in a really good position for that employment. We self-fund all of that.
"It's been around two years since we got involved heavily with homelessness. We decided here, that we wanted to do more, so we put together a five year strategy and we looked at the areas which we felt we could have a positive effect on.
"Over the course of the next five years, we will really ramp up our services. We decided that we needed an outreach. Last year, in 12 months in Farset, we had six people given properties. We started this outreach 15 weeks ago, and we have had 13 people homed and another five in the pipeline too."
Walking around Farset, the hallways are scattered with furniture that has been donated, and up-styled for those at Farset. When their residents move on to a place of their own, the Farset family does all it can to ensure that the property has a sofa, chairs to sit on, and other essential items.
But when they leave Farset, it is not the end of the relationship between the resident and Paul and his team. Their doors are always open for times when they may need to talk. Shaz Anderson, who works in the outreach team, will check in on them after their departure.
Another issue the team has come across is to do with clothing - so they created a clothes bank. A place for the residents to come in, and take what they need.
"It doesn't matter how much they need," Paul added.
"If they want 12 black bags full, they can have it. We also provide them with their food, three meals a day in Farset, and when they leave, if they still require it, they can come back here for food. Nobody will go hungry.
"Farset needs support. It needs recognition. We need to identify the seriousness of the homeless situation we have here."
William Montgomery has been a resident in Farset for the last four months. He hailed it for the help he has received for his mental health.
"I have been in Farset for over four months now," the 31-year-old added.
"I was in prison doing a four and a half month sentence for assault and when I got out, I was sent to Londonderry, to temporary accommodation. My dad, he is terminally ill, so I had to travel from there twice a week to see him. It was very expensive. I managed to get a place in Farset and it has been amazing.
"My mental health has improved dramatically here. Up until I came here, I was really struggling with anxiety, and I still am, but not as much. Farset gave me the opportunity to work in the kitchen, and that put my mind at rest. It gave me something to focus on instead of sitting in my room, doing nothing and overthinking.
"I just got an offer for a flat of my own, which is amazing. The Farset team has worked tirelessly to help me achieve that accommodation offer. Hopefully I will be moving in over the next couple of weeks, it is exciting. I would never have been able to get that without the help of Farset.
"I also have a learning disability, so when it came to forms and applications, I did struggle. They took the stress off me, and helped with that aspect."
Michael Haughey, from Ardoyne, has been a resident of Farset for 17 months.
The 29-year-old said: "I had a family breakdown and became homeless. Farset is like a big family, everybody gets on and it is a good feel. You're like part of the furniture now.
"They are always there for me, anything I need, they are there. It is a good place to be, for anybody. We all look after one another too, if someone is having a bad day, we are there for them, and the staff too, they are brilliant.
"You have your ups and downs, everybody does. But they really do help with your mental health too. When I first came here, I was scared, but Farset really helped to put my mind at ease."
For information on Farset, their services, and how you can help, please visit here.
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