DANSIN THIS CE ISSUE NUMÉRO Compter2 Editorial les sans-abri NumbersNumbers andand indicators:indicators: en Europe Counting3 Dr. Thomas the Specht-Kittler: Homeless HowHow dodo wewe countcount thethe in EuropeChiffres sur le sans-abrisme entre réalité et fiction 3 Dr. Thomas Specht-Kittler: homelesshomeless inin EuropeEurope Dr. Dragana Avramov: Chiffres 5 Numbers on Homelessness revisités sur l’ampleur du sans- between Fact and Fiction abrisme dans l’Union européenne 5 Dr. Dragana Avramov: Figures on Freek Spinnewijn: La Task Force 7 the Extent of Homelessness in d’Eurostat sur le sans-abrisme the European Union Revisited 7 Freek Spinnewijn: Eurostat Task LesForce indicateurs on Homelessness et l’Union européenne Indicators9 Padriac Kenna: and the De quoiEuropean Unionparle-t-on quand on parle d’indicateurs sur le sans-abrisme? 9 Padraic Kenna: What are we Samara Jones: Et les indicateurs 11 talking about when it comes to de logement? Le Comité de indicators on homelessness? Protection Sociale et le 11 développementSamara Jones: What d’indicateurs about housing indicators? The Social Protection Committee and the Certainesdevelopment perspectives of indicators nationales sur la manière de combattre le sans-abrisme (PerspectivesSome national nationales) perspectives on tackling homelesness (National12 Autriche perspectives) : Heinz Schoibl : Aspects quantitatifs du sans- 12 abrismeAustria: Heinzen Autriche Schoibl: Quantitative aspects of Ecosse : Task Force sur le 14 homelessness in Austria sans-abrisme 14 Scotland: Task Force on Dr Isobel Anderson: Recherche Homelessness sur le sans-abrisme et évolutions politiquesDr. Isobel Anderson:en Ecosse: le travail de laHomelessness Task force sur Research le sans-abrisme and Policy Development in Scotland: M. Bill Edgar: les statistiques sur 16 the work of the Homelessness le sans-abrisme – collecte de Task Force données en Ecosse 16 Mr. W. Edgar: Homelessness Les Pays-Bas: Maria De Cock: 17 Statistics – Data Collection in Figures on Federatie Opvang et la collecte de Scotland données des prestataires de services the Extent of 17 The Netherlands: Maria de Cock: France: Cécile Brousse: l’enquête de 18 Federatie Opvang and data l’Insee sur le sans-abrisme. INSEE est Homelessness collection from service providers l’Institut National des Statistiques et in the European 18 desFrance: Etudes Cécile Economiques Brousse: Insee's survey of homelessness Union Revisited Page 5 -The European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless of National Organisations Working European Federation -The Newsletter • FEANTSA

Spring 2002 2 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 on thecollectionofdata housing indicators both housing indicators in differentEuropean This editionfocuses and developmentof Editorial the EUasawhole. homelessness and countries andfor Dear Readers, homelessness fortheEU. of reachingcommonindicatorson Eurostat Task Forceonthefeasibility future andexplainsthecontextof Europe. FreekSpinnewijnlookstothe the numberofhomelesspeoplein Avramov revisitsherownresearch into with different aims.Dr. Dragana data productionondifferent levels ties ofdevelopingsoundstrategies Specht-Kittler, discussesthepossibili- ness; the natureofstatisticsonhomeless- Inside youwillfindarticlesthatlookat problem. appropriate strategiestotacklethe assessing theirneeds,andcreating the sizeofhomelesspopulation, others concernedwithdetermining members, aswellpolicy-makersand great importancetomany the EUasawhole.Thisissueisof different Europeancountriesandfor ness andhousingindicatorsbothin of dataanddevelopmenthomeless- This editionfocusesonthecollection issues. discussion andcommentaryonkey newsletter willprovideaforumfor spectives. Initsnewformat,the important issuesfromdifferent per- contributors andreaderstostudy The newfocusonthemesallowsboth directly fromthenewsletter. been includedandcanbefollowed interesting websitesandarticleshave from yourdesktopprinter. Linksto screen reading,aswellprinting digital formatallowsforeasyon- pleasant andinterestingtoread.The dynamic andcolourful,thatisboth bring youanewsletterthatismore moving toadigitalformat,wehope look andanewconceptfor2002.By The FEANTSA FEANTSA newsletter hasanew 's president,Thomas FEANTSA them to gestions andcontributions–pleasesend We lookforwardtoyourcomments,sug- immigration andhomelessness. icate thewintereditiontoissueof ence andseminarinBerlin,wewillded- Inclusion, andafter National ActionPrograms–Social together anewsletterthatlooksatthe At theendofsummerwewillput for contributionstoupcomingeditions. of thenewformat.We arealsoeager cles, pleaseletusknowwhatyouthink Once youhavereadthroughthearti- statistics agency. carried outbyInsee,France'snational have includedareviewofthesurvey statistics anduserprofiles.Finally, we Federatie Opvang,initscollectionof lines theworkof to theNetherlands,MariadeCockout- Task ForceonHomelessness.Moving focusing ontherecentlycompleted an insightintoScotland'sstrategyby Edgar andDr. IsobelAndersonprovide and commentsonitsstructure.Bill involved inSalzburg'sannualcount In Austria,HeinzStoiblhasbeen counting oraddressingthehomeless. have alreadyproducedstrategiesfor we looktotheEUMemberStateswho Turning tomoreconcreteexamples, on housingindicators. indicators andtheirinabilitytoagree Protection Committee'ssub-groupon describes theworkofSocial human rights,whileSamaraJones between homelessnessindicatorsand structures inplaceandthelink indicators. PadraicKennaoutlinesthe being takentocreateappropriate exclusion andpovertythesteps European strategytocombatsocial themselves, twoarticleslookatthe Turning morespecificallytoindicators samara.jones@feantsa.or FEANTSA FEANTSA 's confer- member, g • different aims. data production ondifferent levelsandwith it ispossibletodevelopsoundstrategiesof of comprehensive dataonhomelessness on homelessnessbutdespitetheobviouslack It isnoteasytoproduce relevant numbers vant facts. homelessness ratherthanadescriptionofrele- gives waytotheproduction ofmythson better nottoknowtoomuch.Thisattitude issues ofpovertyandhomelessness:itis desire todistancethemselvesfrom thebasic on homelessnessiscloselyrelated totheir The distancepoliticianstaketonumbers of reference ordefinedpopulationexist. highly debatedbecausenocommonpoint illness, unemploymentorfamilystatusare bers onratesofalcoholism,psychiatric of thehomelesspopulation,qualitativenum- rogeneous compositionandvagueborders impossible. Inaddition,giventhehete- counting rough sleeperscanbequalifiedas to betakenextremes. Eventhetaskof numbers, eitherqualitativeorquantitative,tend When itcomestohomelessness,debateson Fact andFiction Homelessness andNumbers:between PRAHATRSEII UCINPOLITICALIMPLICATION Public Statistics SPECIFICFUNCTION Documentation ACTOR Research APPROACH Counting thehomelessinEurope ifrn eeshmls epeadtoetraee y restrictedtoserviceusersof homelesspeopleandthosethreatenedby ifdoneproperly–willnotbe - Countingtheabsolute numberofall different levels Public administrationon long-termdevelopments nolong-termdatasetavailable - butusuallynotonaregularbasis De Describingspecificor representative Social servicesforthehomeless normallynotime-seriesdatafor - populationsofhomelesspeopleindepth, Research units Private researchinstitutes/ Universities/ the three approaches asfollows: roughly describethefunctionandstructure of ing onthesocialphenomenaatstake.Onecan logic, politicalimplicationsandvalues,depend- The approaches are different intermsoftheir • • • approaches toquantifyingsocialphenomena: In generalwecandistinguishthree general "counting business". clarify thebasicconceptsnormallyusedin ducing numbersonhomelessness,itisusefulto a politicaldebateonthebeststrategyforpro- methods andaims.Thus,before enteringinto duced fordifferent reasons, withdifferent the homelesspopulation.Numbersare pro- scope, descriptiveaimandabsolutenumbersof generally aratherconfuseddebateonthe In thefieldofstatisticsonhomelessnessthere is Documentation andPublicStatistics Three mainapproaches:Research, n eut ihnteitgainpoes-restrictedtoservice-usersonly - time-seriesdata and resultswithintheintegrationprocess service usersandsometimesthemeasures iesre aa-official publication ensurespublic - morerepresentative time-series data spe demographic profileproduces homelessness anddescribingtheirminimum agencies (nationalorregional) Public statistics:statisticsproduced byofficial record keeping Documentation basedonsocialservice Quantitative scientificresearch ciigtesca rfl fhmls -if done regularly and standardised, - scribing thesocialprofileofhomeless usuallynoindepthdataa - irregular dataproductiondueto - for practicalreasons scientific sense,asdataareused –not alwaysrepresentative dependency onresearchinterests distribution andvisibility cific services;therefore 3 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 4 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 1. according tobroader concepts. meaning initself,butitcanbeinterpreted Clearly nonumberusedasanindicatorhas Tolerance of thepolicesystemtowards c) Developmentofabsolute povertyina b) Howopen orrestrictive theservicesystemis a) regarded asameasure of: ber ofpeoplesleepingrough couldbe In thecaseofhomelessnessoverallnum- growth. posed togiveinformationoneconomic the gross nationalproduct isgenerallysup- phenomena, e.g.thedeclineorgrowth of supposed togiveinformationonasocial the word isaquantitativemeasure whichis tors: anindicatorinthestatisticalsenseof We shouldalsoclarifytheconceptof indica- Social Indicators 2. 1. three approaches: ter strategies,methodsandresults inall I thinkthatFEANTSAshouldaskforbet- homelessness. lead tovaluablequantitativeinformationon combination ofallthree approaches thatwill end, itistheintelligentandwell-balanced different meritsandflawsofeach.Inthe these basicapproaches, especiallyonthe Of coursemuchmore couldbesaidabout Peopleinhousingexclusion: allpeoplelivinginsevereformsofhousing - People threatenedbyacutehomelessness:allpeopleorhouseholds directly - Peopleinacutehomelessness:allpeopleorhouseholdslivingwithoutaprivate - A definitionservingallrelevantfunctionsseemstobethefollowing exclusion suchasovercrowding, badqualityhousing,areasofurbandeprivation threatened bythelossofaprivate home home In everycountrythere shouldbeamini- In every countrythesocialservicesector threatened byhomelessness. persons actuallyhomelessbutalsothose day-count-basis. Coveringnotonlythe (the periodoftheyear)aswellona survey shouldbebasedonfluctuation nal lawanddoneonayearlybasis.The These statisticsshouldbebasedonnatio- ring tothedimensionofhousingneed. statistics onhomelessness,mainlyrefer- less clientsofsocialservices. grated toanationaldatabaseonhome- the statisticsoflocalservicescanbeinte- should containamechanismbywhich record keepingsystemforclients.It integrated, standardised computer-based for homelesspeopleshoulddevelopan people sleepingrough country regional andlocalstudies less population.There shouldbenational, profiling ofdifferent partsofthehome- geted surveys),includingrepresentative mum ofbasicquantitativeresearch (tar- In everycountrythere shouldbepublic Counting thehomelessinEurope the EUasawhole. political agendaofMemberStatesaswell tative measures willbeusedinthestatistical itative data,clearlyonlywell-definedquanti- While notarguingagainstthevalueofqual- national agencies. they are basedonstatisticsgathered by Inclusion) canonlybepoliticallysuccessfulif the NAPs(NationalActionPlans–Social Quantitative indicatorsfortheevaluationof indicators ofanypoliticalimportance. measures onthisbasiscanbeusedassocial representative andpublic.Onlyquantitative public statistics,becausetheyare regular, are normallyconstructedonthebasisof Most important,howeveristhatindicators agency forhomelesspeoplewhichhastobe operational definitionforasocialservice It isobviousthatthisdefinitionnotan definition. of homelessnessbutservesasanoperational does notbyitselfimplyacertainexplanation tive socialactors.Suchageneraldefinition as thecommunicationbetweenrespec- enough toserveallthesefunctionsaswell more generaldefinitionshouldbeflexible and betweencountriestoacertainextent.A These specificdefinitionsmightvarywithin ical andtheoretical research) Research function(importantforempir- ing providers) Housing function(importantforhous- social services) Integration function(importantfor for funding) Legal functionandcontext(important lowing functionsandcontexts: One canmakedistinctionsbetweenthefol- main functionandcontext. tion thatmustbespecifiedaccording toits the reference toabroad andgeneraldefini- A solutiontothisproblem ofcontradictionis contradiction amongdifferent definitions. its aim,whichsometimesimpliesacertain to belookedatintermsofitsfunctionand Instead, anydefinitionofhomelessnesshas create onesingledefinitionofhomelessness. Nevertheless itisessentialtostoptrying problem. ent nationaltraditionsofunderstandingthe complicated bythefactthatthere are differ- on theEUlevelislong,controversial and The debateondefinitionshomelessness Definitions ofhomelessness and thegrantingoflegalstatus. services, countingbystatisticalagencies, scientific explanations,provision ofsocial Groups atriskmustbeincludedtoallowfor and clearlyincludespreventive approaches. situations ofsocialandhousingexclusion tion assumesacontinuumbetweendifferent Most importantlyhoweveristhatthisdefini- functionally specified. and needs,butitisbroad enoughtobe much more specificintermsofproblems [email protected] Wohnungslosenhilfe, FEANTSA, Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Thomas Specht-Kittler lessness. it comestoputtingnumbersonhome- the gapbetweenfactandfictionwhen ing thesesteps,FEANTSAcanhelptoreduce and demandingpublicstatistics.Byfollow- developing NGOdocumentationsystems improve thenumbers:fosteringresearch, FEANTSA willfollowdifferent pathsto ing point. is whyweneedabroad definitionasastart- all sectorsofsocietyworktogetherandthat But homelessnesswillonlybesolvedwhen the literalhomelessinstreets. would liketoseehomelessnessrestricted to may betoobroad forthosepoliticianswho social workerswithintheservicesystem.It debatable. Itmayseemtoofar-reaching for Of coursetheclarificationofconceptsisstill Outlook • – Presidentof in theEuropeanUnionRevisited Figures ontheExtentofHomelessness modation servicesandoverthecourse ofoneyearthefigure maybeashigh1.8million. assessment was:onanaverageday asmany1.1millionpeoplemayrely on supportedaccom- fare regimes butrathertogiveapreliminary ideaofthe extentoftheproblem intheEU-12.My The estimatesmadewere notmeanttoserveformappinghomelessnessaccording todifferent wel- table couldhavebeenmisread asanexactcountofhomelesspeopleratherthan aninformedestimate. census, forSpainreports from thelargestcharitybutnotfrom localauthorities.Givingatotalinone had exactfigures from one-daycounts, forFrancearough estimatebasedonthegeneralpopulation specific figures inasingletable.Thedatawere verydifferent: forDenmark,LuxembourgandIreland, I a percentage ofthetotalpopulation)inreport draftedforFEANTSA.Ididnotevenaddupcountry- homeless peopleIdidnotproduce atablegivingrelative figures withdecimalpoints(e.g.homeless as In order toavoidmisleadingthepublicintobelievingthatfigures proposed were actualcountsof experts from Greece andPortugaltoget anoverviewonhomelessnessforthethenEU-12. census dataforFrance,asurveyonextreme povertyforItaly, andinformedhypothesesadvancedby tative analogywithWest Germandataappeared tobetheonlyfeasibletool.Iresorted topopulation resources tomeasure themandnoprimaryresearch wasunderwayinanyoftheEUcountries.Aten- be quitedifferent from countrytoandevenfrom oneregion toanother, butIhadnoresearch rateestablished forWeston theturn-over Germany. ratesmay Itisgenerallyknownthatturn-over and Luxembourg.Themethodologicalshortcomingoftheestimatelies inthefactthatitwasbased applied todataforGermany, theNetherlands,Ireland, theUnitedKingdom,Belgium,Spain,Denmark not-for-profit organisationsatonepointintimeandoverthe courseofoneyear. Thisprocedure was the serviceuserswhohadbeenassistedorwere onwaitinglistsforaccommodationwithpublicor Estimatesgaveareasonably(one daycensus)andBelgium(yearlyturn-over). comparablepicture of cross sectionalfigure. Thisprocedure brought usastepclosertocomparing‘raw’dataforDenmark the courseofoneyearwere availabletheywere ratetogive a adjustedaccording totheturn-over housing overthecourseofoneyear;andviceversa,whenonlydataonnumberclients give anindicationofthenumberpeoplewhohadpassedthrough sheltersorbenefitedfrom re- from aone-daycensuswere availableIadjustedthemaccording rateto toanestimatedturn-over who were unabletoaccessaccommodationfrom theirownresources. Whendata accommodation, Iestimatedthetotalnumberofusersdefinedaspeople ing short-termshelterorlocalauthoritiesproviding permanent On thebasisofreports from serviceproviders, beitcharitiesgiv- premises didnotqualifyasaccommodation. conventional dwellings’.IntheSwedishcensussuchliving as homelessbutsomeonelivingin‘unitsotherthan tainer, shackorevenanelevatorcagewasnotclassified Portugal, forexample,apersonlivingintent,con- constructions’ ofhomelessness.Inthecensusdata statistics onhomelessnessreflect different ‘social times higherinLuxembourgthanPortugal,sodid an incomeadjustedforhouseholdsize)wasthree poverty cut-off point(50percent orlessofthemedi- ured inpurchasing powerparity(PPP)atthesame Just asinpovertyresearch, thelevelofincomemeas- emergency andlong-termaccommodationservices. of adequacyaccommodation,andavailability try-specific housingsituation,normsregarding standards were bydefault‘standardised’. Theyreflected thecoun- over thecourseofyear. Figures from different countries sheltered onaparticulardayornumberofpeoplewhopassed supported accommodationservicesonthenumberofpeople or thoseonwaitinglistsforhousing,surveyspoverty, reports from population censusdata,localauthorities’reports onresettled households The startingpointformyinitialestimatesofhomelessnessFEANTSAwere lem andnumbersofpeopleaffected byhomelessnessintheEuropean Union. were indicatorsoftherisingtidehomelessnessbutnocredible dataabouttheextentofprob- shortage ofsheltered accommodationavailabletopeoplewhofoundthemselveshomeless.There all butoneofthen12European Unioncountries, Denmark,indicatedthatthere wasaremarkable providers ofshort-termaccommodationinFranceandtheUnitedKingdomexpertsreports from or permanenthousingbecausetheywere homelessorthreatened byhomelessness.Surveysamong pointed totheconsiderablegrowth inthenumberofpeoplewhowere provided short-termshelter European countries,notablytheUnitedKingdom,Belgium,Netherlands,andLuxembourg, In thelate1980sandearly1990sreports from supportedaccommodationservicesinseveral Counting thehomelessinEurope 5 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 6 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 ilo,which10years million, h ag,namely2.7 the range, describe theextentof It istheupperendof later isstillgenerally later homelessness inthe used asafigureto Counting thehomelessinEurope convenience to3 European Union. rounded-up for ilo,usually million, 20th century. Muchhasbeendonetoprevent thisfrom happening. ofthe the numberofhomelesspeopleinEuropean Union couldsoarto6.6millionbytheturn to prevent homelessnessandifonlythosepolicies measures usedinthe1980swere pursued made, atthetime,asimpleextrapolation.Theconclusionwasthatifpublicauthoritiesdidnothing in EnglandandWales tobehomelessorthreatened byhomelessnessbetween1978and1992Ihad On thebasisofindexgrowth inthenumberof peopleofficially recognised bytheauthorities bers, Iwouldpropose goingbacktotheindicatorsof therisingtideofhomelessnessin1980s. Finally, ifwewere tomeasure successesandfailures incombatinghomelessnesstermsofnum- that thisminorityincludesanunacceptablyhighnumberofpeople. fact thatitmayindeedbesaidasmallminorityofthetotalEUpopulationwashomelessbut enon tothetipoficeberg-facespeoplesleepingrough. Figures drew attentiontothe In thelate1990spolicymakersandgeneralpubliccouldnolongerreduce thesocialphenom- Has itbeenusefultotentativelyestimatetheextentofhomelessness?Myanswerisaqualified‘yes’. and supportedaccommodationservices.Thisisaroad notyettravelled. first needtoreach anall-European consensusonstandards ofsocialprotection, welfare provision thus beabletoquantifyitinorder toprovide effective andefficient support topeopleinneed,we passes abroad varietyofhumanconditions.To agree onacommondefinitionhomelessnessand less’ hasremained, bothinresearch andpolicyenvironments, anumbrella conceptthatencom- requires gooddatabasesthatenabletheuseofadvancedstatisticalmethodology. Theterm‘home- Measuring trends, ratherthanmonitoringindicators, whichiswhatIhavebeendoinguptodate, 2000s figures appeartobeonaslightincrease. nificant declineinthenumbersofpeopleneedsupportedaccommodation.Indeed,early were smallandmayhavebeenindicatorsoffluctuationintheserviceenvironment ratherthanasig- (notably Finland,Denmark,Sweden,Belgium,theUnitedKingdomandGermany).Butchanges or doublingupwithfriendsandrelatives mayhavebeendecreasing slightlyinsomecountries It appearsthatinthelate1990snumberofpeopledependentonservicesforhomeless ple unabletoaccessaccommodationfrom theirownresources atEuropean level. that similar‘creative’ methodologyisstilltheonlypossibletooltoestimatemagnitudeofpeo- social exclusion,insightintotheexistingdatabasesandcurrently fundedresearch projects, Ibelieve a10-yeartimespanand10additionalyearsofresearchWith onhomelessness,housingstress and the European Union. lion, which10yearslaterisstillgenerallyusedasafigure todescribetheextentofhomelessnessin It istheupperendofrange,namely2.7million,usuallyrounded-up forconvenienceto3mil- 2.7 millionpeoplemayhavebeenhomelessoverthecourseofoneyear. modation. Iproposed theestimatewitharatherbroad rangefortheearly1990s-between2.3and temporarily doublingupwithfriendsorrelatives becausetheycouldnotafford theirownaccom- in Germany;andinterviewswithexpertstheEU-12regarding peoplesleeping-rough, squatting, supply ofsupportedaccommodation;figures ontemporaryaccommodationprovided toimmigrants about theextentofnon-assistanceinFranceandUnitedKingdombecauseshortage vagrants, peoplelivinginshacksandpremises notmeantforhumanaccommodation;indications from generalpopulationcensusesandpovertyresearch inSpain,Greece, ItalyandPortugalon severely sub-standard accommodationtoexpertinterviews.Ibuiltadatabaseconsistingof:figures The secondstepwastolookatavarietyofdatasources rangingfrom statisticalinformationon Contact address: Housing thePoorinEurope,EuropeanCommission Housing DimensionofWelfare Reform,EuropeanCommission People, DemographyandSocialExclusion,CouncilofEurope For furtherreadingseeprojects: Population andSocialPolicyConsultants(PSPC),Brussels Dr. DraganaAvramov Brussels, 15April2002 [email protected] • national statisticaloffices. edge andexpertiseonhomelessness ofthe sary tocompensateforthelack of knowl- FEANTSA’s participationwasdeemed neces- EUROSTAT expertgroups. We believethat It isratherunusualforNGOsbemembers of the Task Force torepresent theNGOsector. FEANTSA wasaskedtobecomememberof Finland, FranceandTheNetherlands. the nationalstatisticaloffices ofSpain,Italy, The Task Force consistsofrepresentatives of the homelessnessphenomenonatEUlevel. explore thepossibilitiesofstatisticalanalysis States. ThemandateoftheTask Force isto national statisticaloffices oftheMember Commission andworkscloselywiththe the statisticaloffice oftheEuropean a Task Force onHomelessness.EUROSTAT is indicators, theEUaskedEUROSTAT tosetup In order tomakeprogress onhomelessness reaching anagreement. lack ofknowledgewasthemainobstacle sion (2001)’,theEUacknowledgedthata tors inthefieldofpovertyandsocialexclu- and homelessness.Inthe‘Reportonindica- future NAPsasregards accesstohousing these indicatorsare essentialtostrengthen demonstrating thisweakness.Obviously lessness assetoutintheEUstrategy, clearly objectives onaccesstohousingandhome- on indicatorsforthecommonEuropean It hasnotbeenpossibletoreach agreement the EUstrategy. against homelessnessintheframeworkof taking upitsrole aspromoter ofthefight a result, theEUisprevented from seriously housing exclusionintheEUinstitutions.As and expertiseonhomelessnesssevere There ishoweveracriticallackofknowledge round ofNAPsin2003and2004. advance homelessnesspoliciesinthenext developed. ItisnowuptotheEU against homelessnessremain largelyunder- reading oftheNAPs,itisclearthatpolicies analysis ofthefirstsetNAPs.From afirst FEANTSA iscurrently preparing adetailed should beincluded. which measures addressing homelessness implement NationalActionPlans(NAPs),in Member Statesare required todevelopand exclusion. Aspartofthisstrategyall the EUstrategyagainstpovertyandsocial against homelessnessanimportantpartof Council ofLisbondecidedtomakethefight making. InMarch 2000,theEuropean become amore visibleissueinEUpolicy In thepastfewyears,homelessnesshas FEANTSA urgesforamoreimportantroleNGOsinhomelessnessstatistics! Eurostat Task Forceonhomelessness Counting thehomelessinEurope to overcome. and otherstatisticalproblems are difficult longer). Alsotheissueofdouble counting who cannotbeconsidered homeless(any who are homeless andincludingothers be thedangerofexcludingsomepeople counting totalnumbers.There willalways FEANTSA highlightedthedifficulties with regular basis.AttheTask Force meeting the totalnumberofhomelesspeopleona Ireland andFinland,publicauthoritiescount the count.InsomeMemberStates,suchas determining thisnumberandtocarryout public authoritiesshouldberesponsible for evolves overtime.FEANTSAbelievesthat homeless peopleandhowthatnumber be usefultoknowthetotalnumberof Task Force meeting.We agree thatitwould approach tohomelessnessstatisticsatthe FEANTSA defendedaslightlydifferent addressing homelessness. way toevaluatetheeffect ofpolicies a headcountofthehomelessasbest Member States,EUdecision-makersregard people intheEU.Asiscasemany lem, i.e.thetotalnumberofhomeless about thesizeofhomelessnessprob- especially interested inknowingmore strated thatEUdecision-makerswere The Task Force's initialdiscussionsdemon- round ofNAPsin2003and2004. in termsofhomelessnessduringthenext Task Force shouldhelptoreinforce theNAPs the comingyears.Theconclusionsof responsible forstrengthening thestrategyin States, monitorstheEUstrategyandis delegatesofallMember of governmental (SPC) inearly2003.TheSPC,whichconsists sions totheSocialProtection Committee The Task Force willpresent itsfinalconclu- dled withcare. We are convincedhowever services. Thedatashouldtherefore behan- homeless peoplewhoare notusingthese battered womenetc. Certainlythere are advice centres, soup kitchens,centres for lessness services,suchasshelters, hostels, thepeoplewho use home- sations concern national level.Thedatafrom theseorgani- organisations are collectedandprocessed at as theNetherlands,datacomingfrom these regular basis.InsomeMemberStates,such ple monitortheprofile oftheirclientsona organisations workingwithhomelesspeo- Mostofthe But there isanalternative. statistical offices tocarryoutsuchsurveys. support inmostMemberStatesfornational There wouldprobably beverylittlepolitical out regular representative samplesurveys. file ofthehomelesspopulationbycarrying very expensivetomonitorthechangingpro- FEANTSA isaware thatitisverydifficult and less womenrequire specificpolicyinitiatives. number ofyounghomelesspeopleorhome- lessness. Itisclearthatanincrease inthe policies aimedattheeradicationofhome- tant parametersforcreating bettertarget sion history, familysituation,etc.are impor- gender, ethnicorigin,healthstatus,exclu- more relevant forpolicymaking.Theage, that theprofile ofthehomelesspersonis At theTask Force meeting,FEANTSAargued in 2001). (e.g. headcountofrough sleepersinUK exercise ratherthanamatterofpolicy these targetsoftenbecomesastatistical proved thatthere isadanger;reaching examples insomeMemberStateshave precise andmeasurabletargets.However, homeless canhelpdecision-makersset FEANTSA understandsthatcountingthe 7 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 Counting the homeless in Europe

that the data allow an early identification of tion and determine whether they comparable at trends and changes in the homeless population. the level of the EU. We are now looking for support from the European Commission to Therefore, we believe that FEANTSA, which undertake this research. represents a substantial part of the homeless- ness sector in the EU, should be closely In the meantime we would like to call upon all involved in statistical monitoring and evaluat- FEANTSA member organisations to inform us

spring 2002 ing of the fight against homelessness in the about NGO data collection systems in their framework of the EU strategy. The EU should countries. We would also like to know about make use of the continuous work of the organ- recent results or analysis of collected data.• isations working with homeless people with regard to data collection. in Europe In order to enforce our position, FEANTSA Freek Spinnewijn – Director, FEANTSA

LESS developed a proposal to research the data col- lection systems of organisations working with For more information on this issue contact homeless people in the Member States of the Christine Lambert HOME EU. The aim of the research is to find out what [email protected] or data are collected on a regular basis, determine Freek Spinnewijn the quality of these data, assess whether the [email protected] 8 data is representative of the homeless popula- in the FEANTSA office.

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY HOUSING PANEL

EUROSTAT launched the European Community Household Panel survey in 1994. In 1994 samples of 60,000 households in 12 countries were taken, and in 1995 another 13,000 households were added. (In 1998, Norway also joined the group). Homelessness and homeless families were not included in the survey. All the adults in each household in the sample were initially interviewed in detail about their family structures, their employment and housing, and a wide range of other subjects. The same respondents have been re-interviewed each year since then, forming a representative 'panel' which can be used to follow the experiences of individuals, and whole families, over time. The annual interviews have continued through to 2001; the series will now end, eventually providing continuous coverage over an eight-year period.

A massive database has been building up over the subsequent period that can provide the most direct comparisons between countries. A number of working papers prepared by the European Panel Analysis Group were based directly on the ECHP and can be viewed on their site: http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/epag/pubs/index.php.

The last wave of interviewing for the ECHP in its current form was completed in 2001. Eurostat proposes to replace it with a harmonised series of national data sets known collectively as the European Union Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). It is not yet clear exactly what form the new survey will take, and how much longitudinal data will be included. EU-SILC will nevertheless provide the primary internationally comparable European data in the coming decade, and it will as important for socio-economic research in the European Research Area as the ECHP has been.

This information was taken from the above website. Please follow the link for more details. and somehaveattemptedtoestimatethenumbersinvolved. Austria, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,theUKandFinland,highlightseriousproblems of homelessness, adequate accommodationandthusexperiencegreater exclusion.ManyMemberStates,notably and ethnicminorities(notablytheRomaTravellers) canalsofacegreater difficulties insecuring tion isasignificantfactorinincreasing isolationandexclusion. Particulargroups suchasimmigrants adopted inrelation tohomelessness,andthatlackof accesstoadequatehousingoraccommoda- each MemberState,theyfacecommonchallenges essential componentoftheEuropean socialmodel,andalthoughtheyremain theresponsibility of It wasrecognized sincesocialprotection thatSocialProtection systemsare mustbemodernised, an mation aboutthehomelesspopulation. Organisations thatprovide servicesforhomelesspeopleare inaunique positiontocollectinfor- less peoplemustrespect therighttoprivacyandfreedom ofchoice ofeachindividual. service managersandacademicresearchers. Naturally, anyattempttocollectdataabouthome- Group onDataCollectionandStatisticswiththeintentionofbringingtogetherexpertise housing andhomelessness.FEANTSAalsodecidedlastyeartoset upapermanentWorking auspices oftheEUSocialProtection Committee,isworkingonthedevelopmentofindicators Meanwhile atEUlevel–agroup of15nationalexperts–theSubgroup onIndicators,underthe The Commissionreport comparative dataandanalysisofhomelessnessacross Europe overthepasttenyears. Of course,FEANTSAissupportingthisinitiative,havingalready builtupandpublishedarangeof achieving compatibilityasregards thoseindicatorsandthedefiningofcommonlyagreed indicators made onthebasisofindicatorsadoptedbyStatesintheirnationalactionplans,towards action plans(NAPs/incl)forcombatingpovertyandsocialexclusion.From 2001,progress wouldbe The EUstrategysetsoutclearobjectivesandcalleduponMemberStatestocreate nationaltwo-year petencies oftheMemberStates. of openco-ordination thatcombinesactivitiesatbothEUandnationallevelrespects thecom- by investinginpeopleandbuildinganactivewelfare state."Thisnewstrategyisbasedonamethod theEuropean socialmodel tant socialinitiativesinitsconclusions,undertheheading"Modernising and based economyintheworldcapableofsustainableeconomicgrowthwithmoreandbetterjobs new strategicgoalforthenextdecade: fight againstsocialexclusionandpovertyontotheEUagenda.TheCouncilofLisbonsetitselfa European decided toputthe CouncilofLisboninMarch 2000theheadsofstateandgovernment Homeless peopleacross Europe havereceived anewprominence inthepasttwoyears.At to indicatorsonhomelessness? What arewetalkingaboutwhenitcomes which theyareachieved." has nowdevelopedasetofindicatorsthat systems onhomelessness. States indicateintheirNAPs/inclacommitmenttostrengthenindicators andtheirinformation people offoreignorigin,personswithmentalhealthand/oraddiction problems…FiveMember are indicationsthathomelesspopulationscompriserisingproportions ofwomen,youngpeople, recognise thathomelessnessmaybeincreasing,butthisperception isnotsharedbyall…There A fewMemberStatesprovideanestimateofthenumberhomeless…some MemberStates vents themfromdevelopingmorestrategicandpreventivemeasures againsthomelessness. they know(too)littleaboutboththemagnitudeandnatureofproblem,whichalsopre- insteadoffocusingonoutcomes.MostMemberStatesadmitthat with byhomelessnessservices) er indicatorsareavailable,theyoftenreflectadministrativeconcernsandoutputs(peopledealt The informationonhomelessnessintheNAPs/inclhoweverisgenerallypoor. Moreover, whenev- data acrosstheEUonhomelesspeopleandlivinginprecarioushousingconditions. Member States,EurostatandtheCommissionshouldexplorepossibilityofbettercomparable workalreadycarriedout in have betterinformationonthesegroups.Onthebasisofsurvey to ple andpeoplelivingininstitutionswereconcerned,itwasagreedthatwouldbenecessary ing, housingcosts,homelessnessandotherprecariousconditions.Asfarashomelesspeo- National ActionPlansshouldcontainquantitativeinformationcoveringthreeissues–decenthous- A specialconcernwasraisedinourdiscussions–homelessness…We thereforeconcludedthat greater socialcohesion" Indicators andtheEuropeanUnion 5 on theNAPs/inclrevealed awidedisparityindefinitions andmeasures 3 7 . InLisbon,theEuropean Councildecidedonanumberofimpor- "to becomethemostcompetitiveanddynamicknowledge- "address socialoutcomesratherthanthemeansby 2 . Indeed,theEUSocialProtection Committee 6 4 1 . 9 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 10 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 indicator isapieceof indicator measuring theextent to whichalegalright information usedin information Indicators andtheEuropeanUnion "A humanrights given situation." given situation." is beingfulfilled or enjoyed ina or enjoyed 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a memberoftheFEANTSAWorking GrouponIndicatorsandDataCollection. on theRighttoHousingatFacultyofLaw, NationalUniversity ofIrelandGalway, andis social housingprojectsfor14yearsintheUKandIreland.HeiscurrentlycompletingaPhD Padraic Kenna ly measuringtheenjoymentordenialoftheserightswhenwetalkindicatorsonhomelessness. agreements andinstruments.Perhapsweareguaranteed tohomelesspeoplebyinternational actual- FEANTSA hasavitalrole toplayinthiswelcomedevelopment. Butwemustnotlosesightoftherights ness across Europe, andtodeveloppolicymeasures ineachStateundertheEUstrategy. Indeed, Accurate indicatorsanddatacollectionare important in monitoringtheextentandlevelofhomeless- gressive development"oftheserights,includingtheright tohousing,isbasedonindicators: relevant monitoringbodiesonhowtheyare givingeffect totheserights.Themonitoringofthe"pro- Rights Universal DeclarationofHumanRights,TheInternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCultural housing, tohealthcare, toanadequatestandard oflivingetc.Theserightsare enshrinedinthe Indeed, there isanotherapproach toindicators,whichviewshomelessnessasadenialofrights- wide dataresult incentralisedsolutions,orwilltheneedsofeachindividualbeaddressed? thedevelopmentofEuropeanfuture, whatinvolvementforthehomelesspersonisallowed?Will is acommitmentundertheEUstrategytomonitorStates'NAPs/inclandimprove theminthe in relation tohowdatacollectedonvulnerableandmarginalisedgroups willbeused.Whilethere ages canhidepocketsofdeprivation,aswellindividualandgroup disadvantage.Questionsarise Of course,indicatorsrelate largelytostatisticaldata,basedondefinitionsandcriteria.Generalaver- in European housingsystems. confined toabsenceofphysicalshelter, atanylevel,orignores thestructuralchangestakingplace comes, andFEANTSAhasanimportantrole inensuringthatthedefinitionofhomelessnessisnot Travellers/Gypsies andRoma.Clearly, thedefinitionsadoptedhaveimportantadministrativeout- fordable, andovercrowded accommodation,womenfleeingviolence,refugees and rough. More holisticdefinitionsencompassthoselivinginshelters,institutions,poorquality, unaf- involve theminimalistapproach ofsimple(butofteninaccurate)headcountspeoplesleeping the housingmarketorsocialhousing.Thus,creating acommondefinitionofhomelessnesscan accommodation. Atamacro level,homelessnesscanbemeasured bytheextentofexclusionfrom Data onindicatorsofhomelessnesscanfollowacontinuumfrom street sleepingtoovercrowded tation of international rightswithintheirjurisdictions. tation ofinternational National ActionPlans,despitethefactthatalltheseStatesmakeregular reports ontheimplemen- Indeed, thereport ontheNAP/inclacceptedthatthis rights-basedapproach wasdeficientinthe n h omte fteRgos-Datjitrpr nsca nlso. .46. p. and theCommitteeofRegions-Draftjointreport onsocialinclusion., theEconomicandSocialCommittee theEuropeanParliament, fromtheCommissiontoCouncil, Communication European Commission. 1062-1097. 23 (2001)pp. HumanRights Vol. Quarterly, Current toHumanRights Measurement. Approaches wetalkaboutwhenIndicators: "What M. Green, 51. p. Ibid., 20. p. Ibid., and theCommitteeofRegions-Draftjointreport onsocialinclusion 2001. theEconomicandSocialCommittee theEuropeanParliament, fromthe CommissiontotheCouncil, Communication European Commission. 56-58. paras. Ibid., October 2001. Sub-Group. Indicators Social ProtectionCommittee, SectionIV. Ibid., europa.eu.int/council/off/conclu/dec2000/dec2000 SectionIII. Website: 11. para. Annex1. 8and9December2000. NiceEuropeanCouncilMeeting7, Presidency Conclusions. right isbeingfulfilledorenjoyedinagivensituation. "A humanrightsindicatorisapieceofinformationusedinmeasuringtheextenttowhichlegal some vulnerablegroupsaccesstothelawcanbeparticularlyimportantbutalsoproblematic… to obtaintheirrights.Thelawisthusacriticalmeansofenforcingpeople'sfundamentalFor citizensmustbeabletoobtaintheexpertlegalassistancetheyrequireinorder right. Wherenecessary to thelawandjusticeonlyfeaturesinafewNAPs/incl…Accessisfundamental Perhaps surprisinglygiventheemphasisinNiceobjectivesonaccesstorights,issueof among others.AllEuropean Stateshaveacceptedtheseobligationsandregularly report tothe is aBoardMemberoftheIrishCouncilforSocialHousingandhasmanaged 8 " 9 • 18 solidindicatorsthatcoverfour dimen- The sub-group had reached agreement on butwhatabouthousing? 18 indicators, all overthecontinent. and withknowledgeableparticipants from cuss thereport indepthwithitsauthors October 2001allowedthesub-group todis- conference inAntwerp European inclusion indicators.Thirdly, amajor surrounding thedevelopmentofsocial an importantinsightintotheissues its work.TheAtkinsonetalreport provided and togivethesub-group abasisfor report tofeedthediscussiononindicators a group ofexpertstowriteascientific the sub-group initslaboursbyasking Secondly, helped theBelgiangovernment da forthelastsixmonthsof2001. tors specificallyremained ontheEU'sagen- that socialinclusioningeneralandindica- tors apoliticalpriority, andensuring first, bymakingthedevelopmentofindica- made importantprogress onindicators, European Union.TheBelgianPresidency by theendofBelgianPresidency ofthe op andagree onsocialinclusionindicators The SPCsub-group hadacleartask:devel- upon commonindicators. the arduous taskoffindingandagreeing experts from all15MemberStatestobegin sub-group onindicatorsandappointed Protection Committee(SPC)thuscreated a ment ofpolicyoutput.TheSocial indicators tohelpfacilitatethemeasure- Committee todevelopcommonEuropean political mandatetotheSocialProtection gaveaclear heads ofstateandgovernment Stockholm SpringCouncilin2001,the works withtheCommission.At experts, mittee, madeupofgovernmental objectives setbytheNicetreaty. TheCom- lished tomonitortheprogress towards the Social Protection Committeewasestab- combat socialexclusionandpoverty, the Following thecreation oftheEUStrategyto the developmentofindicators The SocialProtectionCommitteeand of priorities. al agendastendtofeature different sets exclusion andeliminatepoverty, butnation- Union mayshare adesire tocombatsocial sensus. MemberStatesoftheEuropean of newproblems intermsoffindingcon- on aEuropean levelposesawholerange ent actors;establishingcommonindicators level requires theagreement ofmanydiffer- Elaborating suchindicatorsatthenational is acomplicatedanddelicatematter. or efficiency ofsocialinclusionpolicies, social inclusion,ormore precisely theeffect The developmentofindicatorstomeasure What abouthousingindicators? Indicators andtheEuropeanUnion esting suggestionsforhousingindicators. Atkinson etalreport includedsomeinter- varies from country tocountry. The because thedefinitionofsocial housing social housingasindicators, simply on usingsuchthingsaswaiting listsfor national expertsfounditdifficult toagree proper heating.Furthermore, the 15 different opinionsabout thenecessityof countriesholdunderstandably northern and ing alsoprovoked debate;southern In additionthenotionofqualityhous- ment ofindicators. were the'right'datatouseindevelop- later bytheDutchandFinnishgovernments data collectedfirstbytheCommissionand could notagree thattheEuropean housing with otherEuropean datasets.Theexperts be found,theysimplycannotcompared exists, inthecountrieswhere statisticscan severe problems; insomecountriesnodata The recurring issueofavailabledatacaused op housingandhomelessnessindicators. numerous obstaclesinitsattempttodevel- The sub-group onindicatorsencountered indicators Obstacles todevelopinghousing indicators tobeapriority. ment stillconsidered thecreation ofhousing Obviously theheadsofstateandgovern- inclusion" including"healthandhousing". eradicating povertyandpromoting social elements inthepolicydefinedatLisbonfor common indicatorsconstituteimportant Presidency Conclusionsstatesthat"asetof importance. Paragraph28oftheBelgian December 2001clearlyindicatestheir lessness, theLaekenDeclarationof15 agree onindicatorsforhousingorhome- While thesub-group hadnotmanagedto Some consolations taken intoaccount. cations ofsocialexclusionhadnotbeen indicators, andwondered whysuchkeyindi- ment atthelackofhousingorhomelessness 2001. FEANTSAexpressed itsdisappoint- ously absentfrom thesub-group's report in homelessness andhousingwasconspicu- The fifthdimensionofsocialexclusion, 4. 3. 2. 1. sented indicatorson: on 3December2001,thesub-group pre- 2001 deadline.Initsreport totheCouncil sions ofsocialexclusionbytheDecember education the poor self-perception ofhealththerichand health, withauniquefocusonthe term unemployment work, withparticularemphasisonlong- income andpoverty agreement. motivate theMemberStatestoreach an enough: apoliticalimpetusisessentialto bers, academicsandpolicyadvisorsisnot organisations likeFEANTSAanditsmem- Pressure from theEuropean Commission, come toaconsensusonhousingindicators. will remain impossibleforthesub-group to from thecountryholdingPresidency, it andtangiblesupport and government, official mandatefrom theheadsofstate strong politicalbackingandan Without high onthepoliticalagendaofEU. sole conditionthatthisprocess isplaced sub-group inthenextfewmonths,on housing indicatorswillbedevelopedinthe back towork.Itishopedthatcommon indicators, thesub-group isprepared togo teen EUcountriescomeupwithdiverging housing. Intheverylikelyeventthatfif- homelessness, housingcostsandqualityof responsible forreporting onthree aspects: are now States. Thenationalgovernments mon housingindicatorstotheMember group delegatedthetaskoffindingcom- terms ofhousingindicators.Thus,thesub- nessed successonmanyfronts, butnotin – theendofBelgianPresidency –wit- indicators forsocialinclusion.Thedeadline the majorityofitstimetofindingcommon mately 13meetings,thesub-group devoted Over thecourseofoneyearandapproxi- forward Moving Samara Jones Inclusion apriority. make theNationalActionPlans–Social Danish Presidency's professed desire to sion. Thisfocuswouldcomplementthe its round-table onpovertyandsocialexclu- of housingindicatorsinconjunctionwith the DanishPresidency toaddress the issue take ituponthemselvestoactivelylobby Perhaps FEANTSAanditsmembersshould Room forlobbying of thepolicy. surveyed, andthusanalysetheefficiency the qualityoflifethosegroups being ent policies.Outcomeindicatorsassess than inputindicatorsthatcompare differ- developing outcomeindicatorsrather terpretation. Thesub-group focusedon ner thatreduces thepossibilityofmisin- tors. Indicatorsmustbecreated inaman- group wasthecomplexnature ofindica- One ofthemanychallengesfacedby an agreement. cuss thepropositions, butcouldnotreach The group tookconsiderabletimetodis- , FEANTSA • 11 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 12 12 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 homelessness inthecityofSalzburg (2001). mary oftheresults ofarecent surveyon In thefollowingsectionyoucanfind asum- homelessness atlocaland/orregional level. essary tolookatadditionalsurveys on structure ofhomelessness inAustriaitisnec- For amore detailedviewontheextentand tion isnotadequatelyincluded. significant sectionofthehomelesspopula- migrant householdsandrefugees, thusthis survey couldnotdealwiththeservicesfor extreme housingstress. Furthermore this example youngadultsandwomenin impossible toreach thehiddenhomeless,for 1999). Butwiththiskindofsurveyitis port andofsupportedhousing(Eitel,Schoibl overview oftheservices,individualsup- part inasurvey. Thissurveyproduced an with homelessclients,were invitedtotake Austria, aswellsocialservicesdealing In 1997allservicesforhomelesspeoplein wide estimations. a figure andanempiricalbasisfornation- less inAustria(BAWO) in1997,whichgives isation oftheserviceproviders forthehome- attempt, undertakenbytheumbrella organ- ness. There hasbeenonlyoneserious tify theextentandstructure ofhomeless- homelessness soitisstillimpossibletoquan- In Austriathere isalackofresearch on a nationwideoverview HomelessnessinAustria– 1. Quantitative aspectsofhomelessnessinAustria • • • • • be summarisedasfollows: The results oftheBAWO-survey can where almostnoservicesare provided. especially intheruralareas ofAustria groups andlevelsofindividualsupport, housing, specificservicesfortarget ness andinstandards ofsupported ferences inmeasures against homeless- there are hugelocalandregional dif- The surveyalsogivesevidencethat countries. facilities formigrantsfrom nonEU- countries livedinrefugee campsand About 7000migrantsfrom nonEU- dations are women. of sheltersandsupportedaccommo- homeless –about25%oftheclients ported accommodations)forthe facilities (suchassheltersand/orsup- Another 12000personsstayedin were sleepingrough (0.03%). Approximately 2000ofthesepersons inhabitants ofAustria). homeless in1998(about0.3%ofthe and incontactwithservicesforthe About 21000peoplewere homeless (National perspectives) Some nationalperspectivesontacklinghomeless tion. Thesurveyonhomelessnessin approximately 0.35%ofthetotalpopula- and the553homelesspeoplemakeup The cityofSalzburghas150000residents, in theCityofSalzburg onhomelessness Annualsurvey 2. month ofOctober2001 even homelessnessduringtheperiodof have experiencedextreme housingstress or pitals etc.)whogivedataaboutclients social services(socialworkersinprisons,hos- ice providers forthehomelessandother is completedwithinformationfrom theserv- An annualfollowupsurveyonhomelessness data abouthomelessnessoutsideofthecity. and itisnotpossibletoprovide adequate es intheruralpartsofcountySalzburg city ofSalzburgbecausethere are noservic- The surveyfocusesonhomelessnessinthe vey onhomelessness(Gölzner, Wrba 2002). for thehomelessinSalzburgundertakeasur- Each autumnsince1994,serviceproviders 1 number ofhousingishigherthan thenumberofhomelesspersons) (In thistablehomelesspeoplewho werenamedtwicearenotexcludedsothetotal • • October 2001 Homelessness inthecityofSalzburg, naby t.41 .%11% 1 0.6% 6%0 3 9% 7 6% 1% 10 7.0% 4 7 10.0% 34 51 7.0% 7% 14% 7% 35 41 16 13% 42 7% 15 16.0% in abbeysetc. 42 22% 77 17.0% in hospitals 28% permanent treatment 25 85 15% in semi-permanentor 31 93 22.0% 17% in prisons 20.0% 106 100 98 sleeping rough 22% IN% boarding houseetc. 21% WOMEN 131 IN% 129 emergency shelter MEN shared orsingleapartments IN% supported housingin TOTAL at friendsetc. HOUSING SITUATION In the appendix you can find detailed information about the methodology of the local surveys inthecityofSalzburg. ofthelocalsurveys aboutthemethodology youcanfinddetailedinformation In theappendix years), 38%ofthemare female. 34 juvenilehomeless women, 519 adulthomeless, DISTRIBUTION OFHOUSINGCONDITIONS/ 1 . 19% ofthemare ADULT HOMELESSONLY; N=582 (less than18 8 - 8 - 1 --- 112 --- 489 --- 582 for thehomeless. changes inthesystemofservicesprovided aside from somemeagre effects ofcertain of theextentandstructure ofhomelessness there isalmostnoobservabledevelopment In long-termcomparisonsofthesurveys people over18yearsold. young andfemaleclientsisdecreases in cific provisions ofsupport.Theshare of bility and/oralackofageandgenderspe- stress orhomelessnessduetoissuesofeligi- young adultsandwomenwithhousing the homelesshavedifficulties reaching ness inSalzburgproves thattheservicesfor On theotherhand,surveyonhomeless- sleeping rough orinprisonthanwomen. ed boarding houses,inemergencyshelters, male homelessare more ofteninunsupport- true inotherhousingcategories.Sothe women and21%ofthemen).Thesameis supported accommodations(28%ofthe women compared tohomelessmenlivein icantly higherpercentage ofhomeless male andfemalehomelesspeople.Asignif- ferences betweentherateofprovisions for or singleaccommodation.Butthere are dif- homeless likesupportedhousinginshared homeless adultsliveinservicesforthe It isevidentthatonly22%oftheknown ple live,oratleastspendthenight. Salzburg showswhere thesehomelesspeo- Salzburg, 2/02

Aus tr ia (Wiesinger 2000). (Wiesinger small town,thaninanurban area excluded isevenhigher, livinginavillageor that theriskofbecomingpoorand socially Recent research onpovertyinAustriashows problems likepoverty andsocialexclusion. rural partsofAustriashowsthatthere are The practicalexperienceofsocialservicesin empirical statisticsandnoscientificsurveys. There are noservicesforthehomeless, no lages andsmalltownsinthecountryside. of housingstress andhomelessnessinvil- is simplyimpossibletoestimatetheamount Due totheunavailabilityofsufficient datait Austria –widelyunknown Homelessnessintheruralareasof 4. extent ofhomelessnessintheAustriancities: the totalforfollowingestimationsof 1991 (lastcensus).Thisnumberwillserveas in citieswithmore than10000residents in In Austriaalmost3.5millioninhabitantslived cally basedevidenceonhomelessness. tion isnotpossiblehencethere isnoempiri- people (e.g.Graz,Klagenfurt)anextrapola- nearly noprofessional servicesforhomeless these figures. Forcitiesandregions with providers inothercitiesandregions confirm Linz andInnsbruck.Experiencefrom service Salzburg, to surveysinthecitiesofVienna, homelessness (Eitel,Schoibl1999),relating and provisions intermsofhousingstress and for anestimateonthedemandservices regions. Thesesurveysare theempiricalbase undertaken inseveralAustriancitiesand Since 1994anumberofsurveyshavebeen Homelessnessinurbanareas 3. • • • • • Salzburg 10/2000). (survey onhomelessnessinthecityof actually sleeprough –inthestreets etc. dents (approximately 1750persons) Approximately 0.05%oftheurbanresi- the cityofSalzburg10/2000). friends etc.(surveyonhomelessnessin living andhousingstandards) orwith boarding houses(mainlywithverylow in unsupportedaccommodationslike dents (approximately 7000persons)live Approximately 0.2%oftheurbanresi- provided). cities where servicesforhomelessare in supportedhousing(atleastthose dents (approximately 3500people)live Approximately 0.1%oftheurbanresi- 10/2000). (survey onhomelessnessinSalzburg, Approximately 21%ofthemare female thus needservicesandsupport. people) are homelesseverymonthand 0.35% ofurbanresidents (about12500 1/97). half ofthem(48%)are women(FAWOS eviction intheperiodofoneyear;about persons inAustria)are threatened by 2% ofurbanresidents (about70000 National perspectives – tofleestigmatisationintheruralsociety. able accommodationand–lastbutnotleast cities includeseekingemployment,afford- areas. Individualmotivesformovingtothe er cities.Theproblem isexportedintourban society andmovetooneofthenearbylarg- homeless personisforced toleavetherural if thisstrategydoesnotworkanymore, the will behiddenaslongpossibleandthat, es inruralareas showsthathomelessness The practicalexperienceofthesocialservic- boarding houses,social servicesinhospitals ed employment,churches andabbeys, gency shelter, counsellingservices,support- institutions likesupportedhousing, emer- naire completedby serviceproviders and Salzburg isexclusivelybasedona question- The surveyonhomelessnessinthecityof on homelessness aspects oftheannualSalzburgsurveys Target groups andmethodological APPENDIX higher thanthegivenestimate. and migranthouseholdsislikelytobemuch es. Thecorrect figure ofhomelessrefugees social benefits,housingorservic- De factoillegalisedtheyhavenoaccessto could notbesentback("antirefoulement"). applications forasylumwere deniedbutthey ple were placedindetentionbecausetheir example: in1999approximately 4500peo- migrant offices andserviceproviders. For updated andincomparablereports of countries –actuallybasedoninsufficiently of 7000homelessmigrantsfrom non-EU- 1999) hadtorely onthesimpleestimations Therefore theBAWO-survey (Eitel/Schoibl evidence oftheirsocialproblems andneeds. from mostoftheservicesthere isverylittle target group ofnonEU-citizensisexcluded with supportonasystematiclevel.Asthe allowed toprovide immigrantsandrefugees homeless insomecountiesare noteven These restrictions meanthatservicesforthe only havelimitedaccesstowelfare benefits. the welfare systemandnon-EUimmigrants almost allAustriancountiesare fundedby Furthermore theservicesforhomelessin risks (e.g.lossofpermitresidence). specific legalandadministrativebarriers they are inurgenthousingstress duetothe do notcontactservicesforhomelessevenif Migrant householdswithoutEU-citizenship Homelessnessofmigranthouseholds 5. oa 4 0 13% 12% 940000 17% 10% 320000 350000 270000 POVERTY RATE total NUMBEROFPEOPLE medium andlargetowns small towns rural settlements TYPES OFREGIONS POVERTY RISKACCORDINGTOAURBAN–RURALTYPOLOGY NPVRYRS IN% IN POVERTY RISK • • • • • • • • • Further details: homelessness oratransferofreliable data. ferences hinderacommondefinitionof surveys becauselegalandadministrativedif- for migrantpeopledonotparticipateinthese etc. are notcategorisedashomeless.Services communities, housingforex-homelessseniors ported housinginstitutionsliketherapeutic long-term accommodationsandspecificsup- lessness ofadultEU-citizens.Inhabitants The surveyismainlyfocusedonacutehome- cial /psychiatricservices. and jails,facilitiesintherangeofpsychoso- [email protected] Helix –ResearchandConsulting. correspondent inAustriaandworks with Heinz Schoibl the interpretation ofthedataisedv-based. eviction etc.); to insecure tenancycontracts,dangerof well asthethreat ofhomelessnessdue quate, overcrowded orunsafehousing as to maintainsystematicdataoninade- data from serviceproviders, itisimpossible to BAWO: acutehomelessness(basedon the definitionofhomelessnessaccording these surveysonlyincludeoneaspectof eliminate doublevotes; letter ofthelastname–soitispossibleto gender, dateofbirth,familystatus,first based onsocio-demographicdatalike these surveysare strictlyanonymousbut ering orcheckingdata; refuse toparticipateinanyformofdeliv- local andregional leveltheseinstitutions security andsocialbenefitproviders atthe in spiteofrepeated contactwithsocial improve thedata; and there wasnorealistic chanceto er surveys(1994to1996)were insufficient the surveybecauseresults intheearli- services forimmigrantsare excludedfrom tions bytelephone; with additionalquestionsandclarifica- the maininstrumentisaquestionnaire, October; one month;recently themonthof each ofthesesurveyscoverstheperiod ness startedinNovember1994; the annualfollowupsurveyonhomeless- resources ofthelocalserviceproviders; –it mustbeconductedwiththeavailable not fundedbylocalorregional authorities The surveyonhomelessnessinSalzburgis is FEANTSA'sresearch • 13 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 14 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 published itsfinalreport recent developmentsin This article focuseson particular onthework of theHomelessness National perspectives akFre which Task Force, in February 2002. ctad andin Scotland, • • the ScottishHTFincluded: ‘stakeholders’ intotheprocess. Membershipof a mechanismforincorporatingwiderangeof Labour’s approach to policyreview intheUK,as Task Forces havebeenafeature ofNew August 1999.Itsremit was: a HomelessnessTask Force (HTF)wassetupin review ofhousingpolicy. Aspartofthisprocess, Parliament embarkedonacomprehensive As inEnglandandWales, theScottish The HomelessnessTask Force policy areas. greater freedom tosetprioritiesacross different increased astheScottishParliamentacquired divergence from therest oftheUKhave procedures, post-1999theopportunitiesfor While Scotlandalready haditsownlegislative recognition thatitis‘notjustahousingissue’. policy isnowwithinthe‘SocialJustice’remit in and mostemploymentpolicy. Homelessness health andsocialcare, alongwitheducation devolved totheScottishParliamentasare Democrat coalition.Housingpolicyisfully ment inScotland,isaNewLabour/Liberal ty intheUKParliament,current govern- tion. WhileNewLabourhaveanoverallmajori- (MSPs) are electedbyproportional representa- autonomy. MembersoftheScottishParliament Scottish Parliamenthasthegreatest degree of a Greater LondonAssembly. However, the Assemblies forWales Ireland, and andNorthern ment withintheUK.There are alsoNational part ofaprogramme ofdevolutiongovern- The ScottishParliamentwascreated in1999,as Devolving homelessnesspolicy intheUK February 2002. Force, whichpublisheditsfinalreport in ticular ontheworkofHomelessnessTask on recent developmentsinScotland,andpar- da intheUnitedKingdom.Thisarticlefocuses Homelessness remains highonthepolicyagen- the workofhomelessnessTask Force. development inScotland: Homelessness researchandpolicy (HTF, final report,p1). tackled effectively’. be preventedand,whereitdoesoccur, on howhomelessnessinScotlandcanbest lessness; andtomakerecommendations practice indealingwithcasesofhome- lessness inScotland;toexaminecurrent ‘to reviewthecausesandnatureofhome- renamed CommunitiesScotland) fully partoftheScottishExecutive and Homes (thenationalhousingagency, now Staff oftheScottish ExecutiveandScottish office duringtheperiod ofoperation The MinistersforSocialJusticewhoheld ‘advice andassistance’. no clearentitlementtohelpbeyondgeneral need groups’. Previously, suchhouseholdshad dation forthosewithoutthedefined‘priority include theprovision oftemporaryaccommo- to homelesshouseholdswere alsoextendedto strategies. Existingdutiestoprovide assistance develop comprehensive localhomelessness to 2001 placednewdutiesonlocalgovernment process. ThesubsequentHousing(Scotland)Act ommendations couldfeedintothelegislative published inApril2000,order thatearlyrec- of more thantwoyears.Aninterimreport was The Task Force held30meetings,overaperiod economic opportunities.Itrecognises thestruc- system, mechanismsforcare andsupport, firmly withinthecontextofcurrent housing The report setsthe problem ofhomelessness best wayforward. statutory andnon-statutoryagencies,astothe dations represent abroad consensusacross Membership oftheTask Force, therecommen- homelessness inScotland.Giventhe action planforpreventing andresponding to dations. Effectively, thereport constitutesan Social Justicehasacceptedallofitsrecommen- February 2002.Inprinciple,theMinisterfor was publishedbytheScottishExecutivein The finalreport oftheHomelessnessTask Force Helping HomelessPeople accompany thefinalreport oftheTask Force. the research programme wasalsopublishedto Scotland. Asummaryofthemainfindingsfrom Executive orScottishHomes/Communities and are availablefrom eithertheScottish All oftheresearch reports havebeenpublished practice intacklinghomelessness. documenting ‘whatworks’intermsofgood themes ofunderstandinghomelessnessand projects were completedonthetwomain research toinformitsdeliberations.Some13 The Task Force commissionedaprogramme of Homelessness ResearchProgramme • Representatives from ˚ ˚ ˚ ˚ The academic/research community. representative. Single Homelessness,theUK’s FEANTSA ing RobertAldridgeofScottishCouncilfor Housing andhomelessnessNGOs,includ- work authorities housingandsocial Local Government: (Westminster Government) The DepartmentforWork andPensions

S cot la n d tackling homelessness. cipalities intermsofaprogressive approach to a packagewhichnowleadstheotherUKprin- Scotland andisgenerallyconsidered tosetout ing andhomelessnesspolicycommunitiesin The report hasbeenwellreceived bythehous- http://www important resources andare worthalook. The sitecontainsinformationonover 1000cities,soitcantakeawhiletoloadandviewthedata.The GlobalUrbandatabase and organizationsofthecivilsocietydevelopapplypolicy-oriented urbanindicators,statisticsandotherinformati The siteseekstoaddress localauthor theurgentneedtoimprove theworldwidebaseofurbanknowledgebyhelpinggovernments, progress inimplementingtheHabitat Agenda andtomonitorevaluateglobalurbanconditionstrends. response toadecisionoftheUnitedNationsCommissiononHumanSettlements,whichcalled foramechanismtomonitorglobal The UN-HabitatwebsiteallowsvisitorstoaccessitsGlobalUrban Observatory (GUO).TheGUOwasestablishedbyUN-HABITAT in • tion include: Key weaknessesinpolicyandpracticeevalua- comes, ismuchlesswelldeveloped. tiatives, andespeciallythemeasurement ofout- the robust evaluationofpolicyandpracticeini- However, areview ofthestudiesreveals that causes andconsequencesofhomelessness. stantial research evidencebaseonthenature, Scotland andtherest oftheUKhaveaverysub- emerging from theHTFresearch programme. process, itisworthnotingsomekeyissues As wemovetotheimplementationstageof Implementation andevaluation • • • • include: Scotland. Someofthekeyrecommendations reduce theincidenceofhomelessnessin need forcomprehensive, longtermsolutionsto situations whichtriggerhomelessness,andthe tural causesofhomelessness,therangecrisis ria forevaluationatpolicyandproject level. A lackofclarityaims,objectivesandcrite- fits systemforhomelesspeople. regardinggovernment improving thebene- A commitmenttoliasewiththeWestminster process homeless peoplethrough theresettlement to prevent homelessnessandtosupport collaborative workingacross serviceproviders A widerangeofrecommendations regarding priority’ needstatusby2012 households according to‘priority’or‘non- Phasing outofthedifferential treatment of tice andservicedelivery people andtheirparticipationinpolicy, prac- Promotion oftheempowermenthomeless National perspectives .unhabitat.or g/guo/ The report canbeviewedat: Edinburgh: ScottishExecutive.February2002. Homelessness Task ForceFinalReport. for preventionandeffective response. Helping homelesspeople:anactionplan robust evaluationstrategyinplaceisnow. practice overthelongterm.Thetimetoputa the sustainabilityofdevelopmentsinpolicyand be crucialtoprotecting essentialfundingand data ontheoutcomesfrom newinitiativeswill favourable tothehomelessnesscause,quality the politicalclimatechangetooneless will notbepossibletojudgeitssuccess.Should quately monitored andevaluated.Otherwise,it response totheHTFrecommendations are ade- imperative thatthechangesimplementedin impact onthealleviationofhomelessness.Itis have anopportunitytomakeasignificant Scottish housingandsupportproviders, now The ScottishExecutive,inpartnershipwith • Scotland, UK. Practice UnitattheUniversityofStirlingin professor withtheHousingPolicyand Observatory onHomelessness;sheisa correspondent fortheEuropean Isobel Anderson ety/htf http://www • • a comprehensive study. Available resources are ofteninadequatefor initiative. to determinethefullimpactofaparticular Evaluations are oftentooearly, and tooshort, key monitoringdata. which maythenconstrainthecollectionof Implementation oftenleadsevaluation, A lackofplanningforevaluation. f-00.asp .scotland.gov is FEANTSA'sUK .uk/librar y3/soci - on. s are very ities 15 15 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 16 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 Housing. The sitedividesitstatisticsintonine themes,whichcoverseveraldomainsandincludessectionson Income andLivingConditi A feeischarged toenterthedatabase National perspectives yearly New Cronos more than ering allEUmemberstates,thecandidate countriesandprincipaleconomicpartnersoftheEU.Thesite contains or annual 180 millionsocialandeconomic statisticaldata http://www description ofthis) Category ofpriorityneed(seebelowfor house) In priorityneed(i.e.localauthorityhasdutyto Homeless, potentiallyhomeless,nothomeless Assessment Reasons forhomelessness(32reasons identified) Where waslastsettledaccommodation had livedthere for6months) Was mostrecent accommodationsettled(i.e. last night Has anymemberofthehouseholdsleptrough in previous 3months Has anymemberofthehouseholdsleptrough Has applicantcomefrom thefamilyhome Applicant Characteristics ethnic group. number ofchildren byageandgender number ofadultsbyageandgender Household Characteristics: basic informationincludes: authority tobeacceptedashomeless.The all homelesspeopleapplyingtothelocal them ashomeless.Informationiscollectedon accommodation forallpeoplewhoapplyto duty toprovide eitherinterimortemporary From September2002localauthoritieshavea authorities. method andcontentofdatacollectionbylocal in preparation ofthelegislation–changed Force –whichwastheconsultativegroup used ment. Forthisreason theHomelessnessTask information availabletomakesuchanassess- assumes thatlocalauthoritieshaveadequate accommodation andservices.Thisrequirement analysis ofprovision andgapsinprovision of homelessness andaquantitativequalitative an analysisofthescale,nature andcauses of April 2003.Thesestrategiesare tobebasedon ted totheScottishExecutiveforapproval by Strategy. Thefirststrategiesare tobesubmit- Scotland nowhastoprepare aHomelessness Under newlegislationeverylocalauthorityin data collectioninScotland Homeless statistics– , according tothestatistical domaincovered –are expressed inawholerangeofdifferent units. . Visitors canselectthecriteriafor theirsearch. Visitors and send theirrequest by email. .datashop.or g/en/bases/newcr onos.html which maybe Housing Research(JCSHR). and directstheJointCentreforScottish European ObservatoryonHomelessness Mr W. Edgar flood, stormetc.). Homeless asaresult ofanemergency(fire, ing hospitalorprison) Household dischargedfrom institution(includ- Woman suffering miscarriageorinabortion Asylum seeker, refugee Household fleeingracialviolence side thehousehold Household fleeingviolencefrom personsout- Household fleeingdomesticviolence limit) Young personvulnerableduetoyouth(noage Young personaged16-17 Young personunder21(previously incare) condition, drink/drugproblem. disability,learning physicaldisability, medical Vulnerable dueto–oldage,mentalillness, is pregnant. Household withchildren orhouseholdmember ed ashavingpriorityforhousing.Theseinclude: ful toexplainthetypesofneedwhichare record- mainly topeopleinpriorityneeditismaybehelp- Because thedutiesoflocalauthorityrelate through temporaryaccommodation Was route topermanent accommodation Was socialworkinvolved(contacted) Was accommodationprovided withsupport Information andadviceonly Referred toanotherlocalauthority provided it) Temporary accommodationprovided (andwho ation orprivate) Offered tenancy(localauthority, housingassoci- Lost contact Housing Outcome offers visitorsawide rangeofstatisticscov- daily, monthly, quarterly, half- co-ordinates FEANTSA's • ons aswell

S cot la n d • • • • 2000 figures Some alarmingsignalsfromthe lished inbrochures andinadetailedreport. be usedtomakeanalyses.Thelatterare pub- ures intocleartablesthatcanthen are turned ments inthehealthandwelfare sector),fig- organisation aimedatreform andimprove- tute forhealthandwelfare, anindependent In cooperationwiththeNIZW(theDutchinsti- absence duetoillness,etc. capacity, sources of subsidies, personnel, and amongallinstitutionswithregard to social boarding housesandtransitioncentres Annual surveysare alsocarriedoutamong Salvation Army'sregistration system(Klaver). registration system(Klimop)andfrom the shelters. Thesefigures comefrom FO'sown ures onsocialsupportcentres andwomen's Every year, offers supportbyproviding specialized - playsarole inpublicdebateandbrings - closelymonitorsdevelopmentsinthis - Federatie Opvang (sexual) violenceare represented. and atthoseinavulnerablesituationdueto at clientsfrom thelowestlevelsofsociety ices. Allformsofcare andassistanceaimed with promoting interests andproviding serv- support services)andismainlyconcerned tions inthearea ofsocialrelief work(social Federatie Opvang from service providers from service Federatie Opvang anddatacollection age of6and86% undertheageof12. Some 55%ofthesechildren are underthe seen incrisiscentres. 1,873 withthesharpestrise(11%!) being centres, thetotalrose from 1,676to other typesofsocialsupportor relief to 5,162in2000women'sshelters. In panying children rose from 4,900in1999 Total numbersof(mainlyyoung)accom- absence duetoillness(12–15%) A seriouspersonnelshortagebecauseof capacity Insufficient financialmeanstoexpand shelters less, duetoalackofspaceinwomen's being cared forincentres forthehome- An increase inthenumberofchildren tration andconsultancywork. in thearea ofqualitycontrol, clientregis- services toinstitutionsorsocialworkunits publications. public through articles,congresses and social signalstothenoticeofgeneral makers. state andmunicipallevelforpolicy prets these,forexample,leadersat problem areas. FederatieOpvanginter- field andcallsattentiontotrends and Federatie Opvang National perspectives is afederationofinstitu- collects fig- These servicesinclude providing guidance research instituteandaserviceprovider. promote people'smental health.Itisbotha ent nationalresearch institutethatworksto toring authority. The Trimbos instituteactsasthemoni- dren willfollowinmid-2002. or socialsupportcentres andforstreet chil- demand andsupplyfornon-residential relief residential relief centres. Theindicatorsfor lished formonitoringdemandandoffer for central indicatorswere definitivelyestab- practice andresearch. Attheendof 2001, determine therelationship betweenpolicy, sible tocallattentiontrends andalsoto opments inthesecentralindicators,itispos- tral indicators.Byregularly monitoringdevel- by MMOtakeplacebasedonso-calledcen- Collection andpresentation ofinformation tions affiliated toFO. annual surveyscarriedoutamonginstitu- tem, FO'sownregistration systemandfrom tration figures from theso-calledKlimopsys- is mainlybasedonnationallyavailableregis- municipal policyisaddedtothis.Information women's shelters.Everyyear, informationon supply ofsocialsupportcentres aswell (Annual Report)withfigures fordemandand Once ayear, MMOpublishesareview • • • authorities: responsibility ofdifferent butcooperating task istopromote three functions,underthe ply, demandandmunicipalpolicy. MMO's services, more specificallywithregard tosup- insight intosocialrelief orsocialsupport The aimofMMOistomaintainandgainan for health. department of VWS,theDutchgovernment (MMO) Monitor MaatschappelijkeOpvang of 95millionEURisrequired. relief workandcentres, aminimumamount In order tomaintainsocialandwomen's more beds,improved security, etc. needed foradequatelytrainedpersonnel, more moneyis issue tothegovernment: Federatie Opvang • and theVNG. other actorssuchasFederatieOpvang municipal authorities,toinstitutionsand these activitiesinreports toStateand presenting andincorporatingdatafrom coordinating activities carrying outmonitoringactivities 35,681 (2000)forthelatter. the formerandfrom 32,417(1999)to from 32,581(1999)to34,626(2000)for other socialrelief centres rose sharply, Total registrations atbothwomen'sand was setupin2000ontheinitiative Trimbos isan independ- continues tostress the the servicesavailableforstreet children. women's sheltersandstartedaninventoryof began research ontheincreased demandfor and topics.In2001,theTrimbos institute carry outannualresearch ondifferent themes work ofMMO,theministryalsowishesto theframe- itors inmunicipalcentres. Within and buildingupcooperationwithlocalmon- information andistherefore makingcontacts aims tomakemore useoflocallyavailable Through MMO,theVWS(MinistryofHealth) prison systemsandtheDutchpopulation. provincial andmunicipal),thejustice welfare, education,theauthorities(national, many different sectorsofsociety:healthcare, institutions. Trimbos takesintoaccount cal sidedistinguishesTrimbos from university research. Theorientationtowards thepracti- expertise ofprofessionals, andscientific social supportservices,promoting the quality andorganizationofrelief workor and information,providing adviceonthe Opvang inTheNetherlands. Collection; sheworkswithFederatie FEANTSA's workinggrouponData Maria deCock from the2000figures Some alarmingsignals is amemberof

The Net he r la

n d

• s 17 HOMELESS in Europe spring 2002 National perspectives

ce Insee's survey of homelessness n a r Insee, the French National Statistics agency, recently published F the results of its survey on the use of accommodation and hot-meal services.

INSEE STUDY ON PERSONS USING 3 In the third stage, the researchers selected ACCOMMODATION SERVICES OR HOT two or four users at random on each visit, spring 2002 MEAL DISTRIBUTION POINTS either from a registration list or by selecting an order of arrival number, for an interview In traditional surveys, the persons concerned are lasting about an hour. identified according to their accommodation; persons of no fixed abode are therefore exclud- Collection in Europe ed from most statistics. It sometimes happened that the researcher could not carry out the interview because the LESS As we do not have a basis for a survey among per- person did not speak French or was unable to sons of no fixed abode, the method used consists answer the questions or refused to be inter- in sampling the welfare services mainly intended viewed. It was frequently impossible to conduct HOME for these people. The methodology of the survey the survey at mobile food distribution points in is based on the work of the Institut national d'é- the evening. In such cases, the researchers tudes démographiques (National Institute for noted the sex, apparent age and motive and 18 Demographic Studies) (1995 and 1998) and that selected another person at random: in all, 6,281 of the American Census Bureau (1996). contacts were required in order to obtain 4,109 completed questionnaires. The survey was conducted from 15 January to 15 February 2001 among a sample of 4,109 users of Once accepted, the interviews went well. free (or low-cost) accommodation services or hot According to the reports by the researchers, meal distribution points. The welfare services dis- incidents occurred in 3% of interviews, espe- tributing takeaway food packs are not included in cially at mobile food distribution points with the scope of the survey as they are normally persons under the influence of alcohol, drugs or intended for persons with accommodation. medication. The researchers also noted that the questions were clearly understood; they experi- Sample enced problems of understanding with only 4% The sample is the result of a three-tiered selection: of the respondents.

1 80 towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants Weighting were selected according to size. With this survey method, persons using the serv- A complete census of accommodation and ices every day are more likely to be included in hot meal distribution services was carried out the survey than those only using them occasion- in these 80 towns by consulting the files of ally. Part of the questionnaire allowed utilisation the Ministère de l'emploi et de la solidarité to be evaluated over a week, so as to correct this (Ministry of Employment) and the INSEE file bias by means of differentiated weighting. on establishments and by conducting surveys among associations, regional authorities and The sample was also conventionally rectified places of worship; this census made it possi- according to type of service and size of town. ble to identify 2,398 services and to measure their reception capacity and their average use. National estimate To extrapolate the results for towns of over 2 In the second stage, the statistical unit used 20,000 inhabitants to the country as a whole, was the "service x day of use" pair; 1,225 such the capacity and utilisation of services over the pairs were selected according to the average rest of the territory were estimated by means of use per type of service; the major services cov- a survey on services in 80 towns of 5,000 to ered several days. The cooperation of the serv- 20,000 inhabitants selected at random. We also ices was excellent, with fewer than 2% of used the 1999 population census (census of them refusing to take part in the survey. accommodation centres) in small towns of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants and in rural com- munes. Towns with over 20,000 inhabitants provide 85% of services.

Limit to the survey: persons of no fixed abode who never who never use welfare services. Some persons of no fixed abode sleeping on the streets or in places not designed for habitation in January 2001 were not taken into account in this study.

Firstly, those having spent a very short period on the streets without using the welfare network and, working communities; - publicbodiesorassociationsreserving - placesreserved foremergenciesinyouth - municipalorassociative reception centres; - socialhostels; - mothers-and-children centres; - accommodationandsocialrehabilitation - comprise: The organisationsoffering accommodation cars,wagons,sheds,boats,etc.,withno - communalpartsofapartmentblocks,cellars; - factories,warehouses, farmbuildings; - underground (metro) stations,railway - streets, bridges,publicgardens, waste - as follows: Places notdesignedforhabitationare several months. ments; itcanbeoffered foronenightor structures, hotelrooms orordinary apart- This accommodationconsistsofcommunal viding free orlow-costaccommodation. taken chargeofbyanorganisationpro- place notdesignedforhabitationoris if heorshesleepsonthestreets orina A personissaidtohavenofixedabode Persons ofnofixedabode tribution services. contact withaccommodationandfooddis- of personsnofixedabodewhohave ods inanattempttoassesstheproportion in collaborationwithINSEEusesothermeth- (National InstituteforDemographicStudies) Institut nationald'étudesdémographiques methodological studycarriedoutbythe only asmallpercentage. Anadditional All inall,theseomissionsprobably represent Here, itismostlyaquestionofsmalltowns. modation orhotmealdistributionservices. fixed abodelivingintownswithnoaccom- Finally, thestudydoesnotcoverpersonsofno shopkeepers. picked upatmarkets,products givenby inhabitants oftheneighbourhood,food from passers-by, casualjobs,helpfrom subsistence: welfare allowances,begging persons survivethrough variousmeansof of theirexistenceorthrough choice.These distribution point,eitherthrough ignorance to anaccommodationcentre orahotmeal streets inJanuary2001withoutevergoing abode havingspentseveraldaysonthe Nor didthesurveycoverpersonsofnofixed example, were notcountedinthestudy. one night,followingdomesticviolence,for secondly, thoseforced tosleepinthestreet for hotel rooms orapartments; social residences; hostels, hostelsformigrantworkers or centres; cooking facilities. stations, shoppingmalls,carparks; land, ruins,buildingsites; National perspectives not beingFrench-speakers. made were dueto thepersonsconcerned the survey:athird ofthefruitlesscontacts unable tospeakFrench were notincludedin ple, aswithFrench people.However, those services were selected atrandominthesam- accommodation orhotmealdistribution Other foreigners ofnofixedabodeusing about 6,500people. vey. Duringthewinterof2001theyhoused tres didnotfallwithinthescopeofsur- tion centres andstagingcentres. These cen- for asylumseekers,temporaryaccommoda- refugees housedinaccommodationcentres Some foreigners ofnofixedabodeare FOREIGNERS OFNOFIXEDABODE ed orawaitingdemolition. though thesedwellingsare oftendilapidat- regarded asbeingofnofixedabodeeven without therighttodoso(squatters)are not Furthermore, personslivingindwellings tives becausetheycannotliveontheirown. education livewithfriendsordistantrela- age andhavingcompletedtheirfull-time 80,000 peoplebetween17and60yearsof According tothehousingsurveyof1996, main residence. ple forwhomahotelroom constitutesthe The 1999censusalsocounted51,000peo- verted farmbuildingsorsheds. ing sitehuts,immobilisedcaravansorcon- in thesemakeshiftdwellings,suchasbuild- 1999 censuscounted41,000peopleliving though theyare clearlybadlyhoused.The regarded aspersonsofnofixedabode,even installation ofcookingfacilities.Theyare not often inarudimentaryfashion,through the inally designedforhabitationbutfittedout, Thus, somepeopleliveinbuildingsnotorig- own expense)ortostaywithfriends. who are forced tosleepinahotel(attheir excludes personswithnopersonaldomicile ious housingasan"abode"andalso restrictive. Itregards certainformsofprecar- Conversely, thisdefinitionmayappear ing inmothers-and-children centres. housed forlongperiods,suchaswomenliv- that ofthehomeless; sons ofnofixedabodeislargerthan Defined inthisway, ed at6,500byFranceTerre d'Asile(anNGO). dation centres andstagingcentres are estimat- tres forasylumseekers,temporaryaccommo- populations housedinaccommodationcen- tioned centres duetolanguageproblems; the The surveywasnotconductedinthelast-men- accommodationcentres forasylumseek- - and stagingcentres. ers, temporaryaccommodationcentres the categoryofper- it includespersons Conseildel’emploi,desrevenus etdela - Caissenationaled’allocationsfamil- - Institutnationald’étudesdémo- - Ministère del’équipement,dutransport - Ministère del’emploietlasolidarité, - Observatoire nationaldelapauvreté et - Partners esting statisticsandanalyses. into Englishandoffers awiderangeofinter- Much oftheINSEEsitehasbeentranslated and households) INSEE (Departmentforlivingconditions Division Conditionsdeviedesménages, Report preparedby with thehelpofinterpreters. additional surveyamongthesepopulations Demographic Studies)isembarkinguponan graphiques (NationalInstitutefor The Institutnationald'étudesdémo- French-speakers hadbeenabletoreply. would certainlybeaggravatedifthenon tion offoreigners includedinthesurvey does not.Theparticularlyprecarious situa- foreigners, butthedescriptionofsituations mates takeaccountofnonFrench-speaking In thefindingsofsurvey, theglobalesti- ment, salariesandsocialcohesion) cohésion sociale(Councilonemploy- iales,(National FamilyBenefitOffice) Demographic Studies) graphiques (NationalInstitutefor Housing –departmentofurbanisation) struction (MinistryofTransport and l’urbanisme, del’habitatetlacon- et dulogement,direction généralede and statistics) of Employment–departmentresearch l’évaluation etdelastatistique(Ministry direction delarecherche, desétudes,de Poverty andSocialExclusion) de l’exclusion(NationalObservatoryon Cécile Brousse www .insee.fr , • 19 19 SANSHOME ABRILESS Enin EuropeEurope springprintemps 2002 2002 Calendar of events

FEANTSA would like to thank all those who May 14, 2002. Brussels, Belgium contributed to this edition of the newsletter, Flemish Congress on Homelessness and to encourage others to do so in the Organised by Steunpunt, please contact [email protected] for more information. future. If you have information or articles on this subject that might interest other May 23 – 24, 2002. Brussels, Belgium readers, please do not hesitate to send it to European Conference on young transients – FEANTSA. Comments and additional items hosted by the non-profit organisation: Prévention Santé as part of a on the theme of Counting and Indicators European Project on social inclusion. For more information contact will be posted on the FEANTSA website Catherine Bilger: [email protected] (www.feantsa.org). June 14, 2002. Barcelona, Spain FEANTSA seminar on the NAPsincl For more information contact [email protected]

24-28 juin 2002. Rotterdam, Pays-Bas. 30th International Conference on Social Welfare IN THE NEXT ISSUE: organised by the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) For more information, please contact: The National Action Plans – Social Netherlands Institute for Care and Welfare – Conference Office Inclusion are of vital importance to at e-mail: [email protected]. Tel +31 30 2306510, FEANTSA member organisations, policy website: www.nizw.nl/icsw2002 makers and others involved in the field of homelessness. Following its June 2002 June 12–14, 2002. Casablanca, Morocco seminar on the NAPs, FEANTSA will put Innovative strategies for the habitat of the poor – Stratégies innovantes pour l'habitat des pauvres: together an edition of the newsletter focus- Analysis and perspectives for the 21st century – Bilan et perspectives pour ing on the impact of the NAPs in different le 21e siécle European countries. All readers are encour- An international symposium hosted by the Moroccan secretary of state for aged to consider contributing, as this Housing in partnership with the World Bank and the World Urban Development Forum. For more information contact: [email protected] newsletter should be a forum for different perspectives. If you are interested in writ- July 1 – 5, 2002. Vienna, Austria ing an article for the next newsletter, please International Research Conference – Centre for Urban contact [email protected]. Dialogue and European Policy We look forward to hearing from you! Organised by Europaforum and the ENHR Housing Cultures – Convergence and Diversity Pre-Conference for PhD students and other young housing researchers June 29-30, 2002 Vienna For details please contact: Europaforum Wien Rahlgasse 3/2 A-1060 Wien Tel. +43 (1) 585 85 10 24, Fax. +43 (1) 585 85 10 30, [email protected] With the support of the European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs. September 20-21, 2002. Brussels, Belgium 20 FEANTSA Communications Seminar For more information, please contact [email protected]

October 17 – 18, 2002. Aarhus, Denmark First European Round Table on Social Co-coordinated by the European Commission and the Danish Presidency

November 7-8, 2002. Berlin, Germany FEANTSA Conference on Migration

For more information, please contact [email protected] spring 2002 in Europe 194 Chausée de Louvain 1210 Brussels, Belgium www.feantsa.org LESS tel. +32 (0)2 538 66 69

fax +32 (0)2 539 41 74 HOME