Homeless in Europe Spring 2018
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The Magazine of FEANTSA - The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless AISBL Homeless in Europe Spring 2018 Access to Shelter Editorial IN THIS ISSUE Access to Shelter 2 Editorial By Ian Tilling, FEANTSA President and Founder and President of the Casa Ioana 4 Has the standardisation of Association homelessness services in Poland facilitated access to shelter? The recent Overview of Housing Exclusion in The following articles provide an insight into the Europe 2018 by FEANTSA and the Abbé Pierre relationship of those using sheltered accommoda- 7 Access to shelter in France Foundation finds that housing exclusion continues tion, those providing and staffing the shelter and Hélène Chapelet and Carole to be a growing problem in Europe, resulting in an the very building itself, as well as an opportunity Lardoux increasing demand for support and increased pres- to better understand some of the national realities 10 Access to homelessness sure on emergency services. and challenges faced by the homelessness sector services and housing in professionals in different European Member States. Amsterdam The numbers of people experiencing homelessness Jan de Ridder, Arjan Kok and has continued to rise in almost all EU countries. A In Poland, amendments to the Social Assistance Marcella van Doorn deterioration in the living conditions of extremely Act have introduced standards that categorise three vulnerable families has led to children becoming the types of shelters according to the needs of the 13 Shelter costs in Ireland and largest group of people in emergency shelters, with homeless population. These changes have created the transition to secure more the numbers of women, young people, those with challenges in relation to financing the shelters and effective responses a migration background, and the working poor, their access by people experiencing homelessness to homelessness becoming increasingly numerous among the home- and may well mean some shelter closures. An Pat Doyle less population. unforeseen outcome of these changes has led to those who are not self-reliant being excluded from 15 The Cheaper, The Better? Housing affordability and liveability are emerging the homeless support system, although a recent Housing the Homeless as the most challenging social policy issues in amendment will now meet the needs of this group in France Europe, with the ability to access housing adversely of people. There might also be an opportunity for Marc Uhry affecting young people, those with dependent NGO funding in this sector as more local authorities 17 Shelter as a place of wellbeing family members, and migrants. contract out their homeless services. and dignity Cristian Campagnaro, Shelters are the physical interface of the staircase Hélène Chapelet and Carole Lardoux from the Valentina Porcellana, approach for people experiencing homelessness, Action for Solidarity Federation, discuss France’s Nicolò di Prima and with a succession of preparatory interventions, 115 helpline to access emergency accommodation. Sara Ceraolo from initial reception to social reintegration. Despite The 24-hour free service is a major pillar in informing this key role, many shelters are often rundown and and directing callers to emergency accommodation 20 Rough Sleepers Have equipped with low quality and second-hand furni- and other support services. The system centralises Their Reasons ture, reflecting an image of exclusion and instability. requests for accommodation and housing by the Julien Damon They lack privacy and come with the expectation of geographical area of callers and is now the only cohabitation with strangers. Emergency accommo- entry point to accommodation. It has proved to be dation is supposedly a temporary solution although, a valuable monitoring tool by recording requests in reality, it prolongs precarious living situations for emergency accommodation and has shown a and rarely leads to well-being, recovery and social significant increase since its establishment in the integration. For many Member States, however, the number of requests for help, especially from fami- shelter system is a reality and unlikely to change lies. Accessing accommodation via the 115 system soon, providing at least some respite from living however, has proven to be a difficult process for on the streets, even if it’s just during the colder callers, especially in regards to a shortage of avail- months. able and adequate facilities. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We would like to give you the chance to comment on any of the articles which have appeared in this issue. If you would like to share your ideas, thoughts and feedback, please send an email to the editor, [email protected] The articles in Homeless in Europe do not necessarily reflect the views of FEANTSA. Extracts from this publication can be quoted as long as the sources are acknowledged. 2 Homeless in Europe The reality in the Netherlands is that access to support Cristian Campagnaro, Valentina Porcellana, Nicolò di and housing for homeless people in Amsterdam is Prima, and Sara Ceraolo from Italy discuss whether inadequate. Despite legislation requiring local author- sheltered accommodation is simply a place to live or ities to provide support for people experiencing a place of wellbeing for the people living in it, as an homelessness, many local authorities are not doing experiment to look at new strategies to tackle home- so adequately. The process involved in accessing lessness. Focusing on shelters not originally designed shelter is poor with restricted opening times when as such, showed that the basic needs of those using someone can apply for support and the strict bureau- the services as well as the shelter’s staff were over- cratic process involving numerous interviews with looked. Their research aims to stimulate a discussion many officials. The excessively strict selection criteria on buildings and on designing shelters according to are thought to be responsible for the high number the psycho-emotional and social needs of people of applications for support being rejected, particular experiencing homelessness through an inclusiveness. those deemed to be ‘self-sufficient homeless’ people. Finally, Julien Damon from France uses a sociological A more than 50% rise in homelessness has proven framework to discuss why some rough sleepers refuse to be a significant challenge to local authorities in accommodation, even if it puts their lives at risk. He Ireland, with the rise in family homelessness, causing argues that just two issues need addressing, each issues with traditional shelters serving single people. with its own response. Firstly, protocols for admitting In response, the authorities in Dublin placed families people experiencing homelessness and mental health in hotel rooms and guesthouses, although ‘Family issues need modifying to allow for the compulsory Hubs’, operated by NGOs, were later established to admission to hospital on the request of a third party. better address the needs of homeless families. Family Secondly, that shelters and hostels need to improve Hubs remain a form of emergency homeless accom- their provision of adequate and appropriate facilities. modation, with the length of stay dependant on the availability of safe and secure housing, meaning that We hope you enjoy this edition of the FEANTSA securing exits is very challenging. Homeless in Europe Magazine, and encourage you to get in touch if you would like to contact any of Marc Uhry from France presents the initial results the authors. Furthermore, if you have suggestions for from his research into the costs of the shelter system future edition topics, please contact the editor, Emma in Lyon, a city with 15,000 supported homes for the Nolan: [email protected]. homeless. He splits the shelters into six categories: supported housing, sheltered dwellings, social inclu- sion shelters, shared buildings, hotels and Housing First for severe mental health issues. Homeless in Europe 3 Has the standardisation of homelessness services in Poland facilitated access to shelter? By Jakub Wilczek, Saint Brother Albert’s Aid Society In the years 2009-2014, in collaboration with the ◗◗Warming-up stations – supplementary winter Ministry of Labour and Social Policy,1 Polish FEANTSA emergency service with seats only focused mostly members2 have developed a quality standards frame- on preventing hypothermia among homeless work describing services in six areas – social work, people sleeping rough (53 facilities with 1,212 housing & shelter, health, outreach, education & seats in 201611). employment and local partnership. That framework, published at the end of 20143, became a cornerstone • Enabling the Minister of Family, Labour and Social for a number of legislation amendments aiming at Policy to issue a Regulation on the standards of the the standardising of services for homeless people. above kinds of services with a deadline for intro- Unfortunately, the scope of the reform was signifi- ducing the standards by the service providers by cantly narrower than the range of the framework September 2018. The Regulation12 was issued with – it actually focused only on the standardisation of a serious delay (in April 2017) giving the service shelter services, excluding even the housing part of providers just 16 months to introduce the stand- the standard, not to mention health or outreach for ards. example. It is unknown if and when the other areas will be introduced to the legislation. Having said this, • Accessibility