IT is difficult to think of individuals more in need of help than those seeking asylum from war and persecution.
Yet, while people in Northern Ireland generally offer a warm welcome to those arriving here in distress and under the most horrendous circumstances, it is clear that much more could be done.
A report by campaign group Housing4All has given voice to the plight of asylum seekers in the north.
Carrying the stark title A Prison Without Walls, it details their challenges and experiences. It makes for hard reading.
More than three-quarters of those surveyed in the research say their mental health has deteriorated since arriving in Northern Ireland. Similar proportions said they were unable to afford enough food or school uniforms for their children.
A third said their home was not safe; others have absolutely no means of financial support.
Taken together, a picture emerges of a system that all too often punishes those who have fled their homes and denies them dignity.
There are shafts of light, however. A pilot project to safely accommodate four destitute asylum seekers and grant them a small weekly allowance - less than £38 - is hailed as a huge success, with improvements to their physical and mental health.
There is an urgent need to extend schemes of this sort, and the report identifies how the Housing Executive and Department for Communities could do far more.
This is yet another area where the absence of a functioning devolved government is harming the most vulnerable in our society.
