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National Strategies to Fight Homelessness and Housing Exclusion

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National Strategies to Fight Homelessness and Housing Exclusion EUROPEAN SOCIAL POLICY NETWORK (ESPN) National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Greece Dimitris Ziomas, Danai Konstantinidou, Antoinetta Capella and Katerina Vezyrgianni Social Europe EUROPEAN COMMISSION European Social Policy Network (ESPN) ESPN Thematic Report on National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Greece 2019 Ziomas Dimitris Konstantinidou Danai Capella Antoinetta Vezyrgianni Katerina National Centre for Social Research Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 2019 The European Social Policy Network (ESPN) was established in July 2014 on the initiative of the European Commission to provide high-quality and timely independent information, advice, analysis and expertise on social policy issues in the European Union and neighbouring countries. The ESPN brings together into a single network the work that used to be carried out by the European Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion, the Network for the Analytical Support on the Socio-Economic Impact of Social Protection Reforms (ASISP) and the MISSOC (Mutual Information Systems on Social Protection) secretariat. The ESPN is managed by the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) and APPLICA, together with the European Social Observatory (OSE). For more information on the ESPN, see: http:ec.europa.eusocialmain.jsp?catId=1135&langId=en Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). LEGAL NOTICE This document has been prepared for the European Commission, however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http:www.europa.eu). © European Union, 2019 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged Quoting this report: Ziomas, Dimitris, Konstantinidou, Danai, Capella, Antoinetta. and Vezyrgianni, Katerina. (2019). ESPN Thematic Report on National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion – Greece, European Social Policy Network (ESPN), Brussels: European Commission. National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Greece Contents SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 4 1 THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION ..................... 5 1.1 An introductory note ......................................................................................... 5 1.2 The situation of homelessness and housing exclusion since the outbreak of the economic crisis ................................................................................................ 5 1.3 The current situation of homelessness and housing exclusion .................................. 7 2 RELEVANT STRATEGIES AND POLICIES TACKLING HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 9 2.1 The main relevant policy measures and programmes in recent years ....................... 9 2.2 The development of a national strategy for homeless people in Greece ................... 14 3 ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT PATTERNS OF SERVICE PROVISION AND CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING GREECE’S RESPONSES TO HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING EXCLUSION . 16 3.1 Emergency/temporary accommodation for homeless people ................................. 16 3.2 Non-housing-focused support services for homeless people .................................. 17 3.3 Housing-focused support services for homeless people ......................................... 19 3.4 Prevention services ......................................................................................... 20 3.5 The main service providers and their role ........................................................... 20 3.6 Effectiveness of homelessness services .............................................................. 22 3.7 Main weaknesses and priorities for improvement ................................................. 23 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 25 ANNEX .................................................................................................................... 26 Table A1: ETHOS Light categories defined as homeless in Greece ................................ 26 Table A2: Latest available data on the number of homeless in Greece........................... 27 3 National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Greece Summary In Greece, the acquisition of a house has traditionally been a private affair for the general public, and the role of the state has been very limited. The limited involvement of the state has also been reflected in the absence, until recently, of a policy for preventing and combating homelessness and housing exclusion (HHE). In fact, it was only as late as 2012 that Greece belatedly showed an interest in HHE, by legally recognising ‘the homeless as a vulnerable social group, which is provided for by social protection’, and by introducing a definition for the homeless for the first time in a Greek legislative document. This definition is in line with the categories of the ETHOS Light European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion. Undoubtedly, as a result of the prolonged economic crisis, there has been an increase in situations of HHE, although official data on the extent of HHE at the national level are still lacking in Greece. The data about homeless people and people at risk of housing exclusion are incomplete, and thus the total number of people experiencing HHE is still unknown. A number of policy measures and actions have been taken by consecutive governments to address the emerging situations of HHE during the economic crisis; these have, nevertheless, been rather inadequate and fragmented. In the absence of an integrated policy on preventing and combating HHE, the measures taken over the crisis period have mainly focused on the provision of emergency services to meet the daily needs of homeless people (food, clothing, hygiene) and, in general, of those people experiencing extreme poverty. The design and development of a national strategy for homeless people (currently under way) is considered a positive step towards tackling HHE in Greece. Yet, the progress made so far has been rather slow. The main elements of the strategy suggest that it is going to be underpinned by a fairly integrated approach, combining preventive measures, immediate intervention (through housing and non-housing support services) and housing-led services, while it envisages the establishment of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Still, though, it appears that the strategy’s approach will focus more on immediate intervention to cover the basic needs of homeless people, and less on housing-led services, which are considered very limited. There is a wide range of homelessness support services currently provided in Greece. These have been on the increase over recent years, and have mainly taken the form of emergency/temporary accommodation and non-housing-focused support services, along with some housing-focused support services. The main providers of such services are local authority organisations, a few public organisations and a wide range of non- profit/non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including the Church and charitable organisations. Their role is confined only to service delivery; they have no involvement in planning and coordination, monitoring or evaluation processes. The responsibility for planning and coordination, funding, monitoring and evaluation lies with the competent ministries. The provision of most of the services for homeless people is secured from EU funding, while, on certain occasions, services are funded by a few charitable organisations. Public funding remains very limited. Homelessness policy responses and relevant support services in Greece appear to be fairly effective in terms of managing homelessness, in that they cover most of the basic daily needs of the homeless population, although they fall short of providing sustainable ways out of homelessness. As for the prevention services available in Greece, they are very limited and thus cannot play a significant role in preventing HHE. Weak governance in the public housing policy area in Greece constitutes one of the main weaknesses. This has a profound bearing on the impact of the related measures taken to tackle HHE, which remains rather limited. Among the main drawbacks that continue to prevail in this policy area are the severe lack of reliable official data on HHE, the absence of a strategic framework accompanied by a comprehensive action plan for homelessness, and the lack of a solid institutional setting/strategic mechanism with planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation tasks. The persistent lack of social housing 4 National strategies to fight homelessness and housing exclusion Greece schemes makes current policy responses inadequate in terms of effectively tackling HHE, while the lack of sufficient public funding constitutes another main weakness. There is a need to take concerted action to improve governance in this policy area, which should include immediate completion
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