Threatening graffiti appears near homeless charity

Graffiti threatening workmen who plan to carry out repairs on a local homeless charity has appeared in west Belfast.

The graffiti was sprayed on a wall in the nearby Milford Close in the Divis area in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, the Welcome Organisation’s building was badly damaged when a suspected stolen car was rammed into the shutters of its building and set alight.

The fire caused damage to both the inside and outside of the building.

A man in his 40s has been arrested in connection with the attack, which police have said they are treating as arson.

The Welcome Organisation is a Belfast-based charity which provides services for those experiencing homelessness.

Belfast West MP Paul Maskey said he condemned both the arson attack and the daubed graffiti.

“The graffiti on the wall is absolutely shocking in my view and it’s totally uncalled for,” he told BBC News NI.

“The majority of the people in that area will condemn that graffiti because they don’t want to see any attack on any workers because that is completely wrong.”

Mr Maskey said he has been holding meetings with the Welcome Organisation for months to try and address the problems it faces due to workers’ fears.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the threat “should be lifted immediately” so the centre could reopen.

“This is an outrageous and mindless attack on a facility which provides help to the homeless,” he said.

“I have visited this centre in the past and can testify to the invaluable work they do for our city and those who, through varied circumstances, find themselves without shelter.”

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll condemned the graffiti and described those threatening workers as “bully boys”.

“Deprived areas like West Belfast are at the sharpest end of the housing crisis and all of the problems that come with it,” the west Belfast representative said.

“If the mindless perpetrators of the attacks on the Welcome Centre think we can intimidate, shoot, or threaten our way out of the social problems working class communities face then they are sorely mistaken.”

Mr Carroll added that instead of punching down on the most vulnerable, anger should be directed towards both Stormont and Westminster for failing to “invest in homes, workers’ pay and in services”.