|
|
|
|
|
|
|
European seminar on local homeless strategies – Seminar Report Available [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On 4th June 2010, the European Committee of the Regions (with FEANTSA and HABITACT) hosted a very successful and well-attended European seminar on local homeless strategies, called “Homelessness in public and private spaces: Mind the policy gap! Local strategies to address the different faces of homelessness.” The seminar report, speakers’ presentations and photos are available to download on the FEANTSA website. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FEANTSA Calls for an EU Homelessness Strategy [30/06/2010] |
|
|
In a response to the Europe 2020 Strategy, formally adopted by the European Council on 17th June, FEANTSA has called on the European Commission to develop an EU Homelessness Strategy in the framework of the European Platform against Poverty, to support Member States in their efforts to develop homelessness strategies following the guidelines provided by the 2010 Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion. In relation to the recently agreed poverty target aiming towards 20 million fewer people being at risk of poverty by 2020, FEANTSA believes this target is a crucial step in the fight against all forms of poverty, including homelessness, and has called on the EU and Member States to translate it into concrete and achievable national targets on priority social inclusion issues, such as ending street homelessness by 2015 in accordance with the European Parliament’s Written Declaration signed in 2008. A link to the 2020 response is available on the FEANTSA EU Context Page. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Housing Rights Watch Conference Page [30/06/2010] |
|
|
FEANTSA held a European Conference on “Housing Rights: from Theory to Practice” in Barcelona, Spain, on the 6th of May 2010. The goal of the conference was to explore the theoretical background to housing rights at international, European and national level, to share experience on the practical implementation of housing rights and to provide a forum for existing and potential correspondents of the Housing Rights Watch network. Speakers’ presentations and photographs are available on the conference webpage and a conference report will be available soon. For more information, please contact Dalma Fabian. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Housing Rights Watch Newsletter [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Housing Rights Watch produces a newsletter three times a year with the aim of sharing information on legislative and judiciary initiatives, national and international provisions, examples of case law relevant to the right to housing. The first issue is now available. If you would like to subscribe to the Newsletter, please contact Dalma Fabian. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research Conference on Homelessness in Europe - Registrations Open [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Registrations are open for the 5th Annual Research Conference on Homelessness in Europe. The conference will take place in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday 17th September 2010 and will address the key theme of “Understanding Homelessness and Housing Exclusion in the New European Context”. For more information, and to register, contact Christine Lambert. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9th EU Round Table on Poverty and Social Inclusion [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The 9th Round Table on Poverty and Social Inclusion, taking place on the 18th and 19th October in Brussels is one of the major events part of the social programme run by the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council. The event will focus on gaps in the Belgian Presidency’s social programme and the implementation of previously identified priorities through a review of concrete policy examples, best practices and testimonies of people experiencing poverty from the Member States. As it coincides with the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion, specific attention will be devoted to child poverty; minimum income schemes and the visibility of the European Active Inclusion strategy. The 10 Key demands of the Round Table include strong messages on homelessness. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Belgian Presidency: promotion of social inclusion a key priority [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is to begin on the 1st July 2010. The Presidency has said it will keep social issues high on the EU agenda, with the promotion of social cohesion being identified as one of its key priorities. This objective will be pursued through: seeking social convergence on higher standards, based on objectives and monitoring indicators; striving for concrete progress in the discussions about social services of general interest; reinforcing the social 'safety net' throughout people's lives; focusing attention on violence against women and stressing the added value of the EU in the areas of health and ageing. The Belgian Presidency will also focus on homelessness as a key issue in the context of the European Year 2010. The European Consensus Conference on Homelessness is a Belgian Presidency event, which is co-organised by the European Commission. FEANTSA is co-ordinating the process and the French Government, who have already organised a national consensus conference on homelessness, is a key partner. Please contact Ruth Owen for further information. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Committee of the Regions Calls on European Commission to Help Local Authorities Combat Homelessness [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On 23rd June 2010, the Economic and Social Committee (ECOS) of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) adopted the proposals presented by Tore Hult, Vice President of Alingsås Municipal Council in Sweden and Rapporteur of the CoR’s Own Opinion on Homelessness, due to be adopted in October, which call for a commitment from Europe that goes beyond the declarations of intent made during the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and that guarantees support for society’s most vulnerable. The CoR draft opinion calls on the European Commission to make concrete proposals to support local authorities in their efforts to end homelessness. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPSCO Council Conclusions on Equity and Health in All Policies [30/06/2010] |
|
|
At a meeting on the 8th June 2010, the European Council for Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs, agreed conclusions on health inequalities, expressing its concern that “vulnerable and socially excluded groups such as the unemployed or those on low incomes, the homeless, people with mental health problems, people with disabilities and people from some migrant or ethnic minority backgrounds such as Roma population experience particularly poor average levels of health,” and invited the European Commission and European Member States to take steps to reduce health inequalities. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EU Poverty Target Adopted [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On 17th June 2010, the European Council (all 27 Heads of state and government) adopted the new Europe 2020 strategy which sets out priorities for the next decade. Five targets were agreed, including an EU poverty target to promote “social inclusion, in particular through the reduction of poverty, by aiming to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and exclusion.” The poverty target is the first in the history of the EU, and should help to keep up EU political momentum on poverty over the next decade. One concession concerns the possibility of choosing between three different indicators. Each country will be free to set its national target on the basis of the most appropriate indicator: "at-risk-of-poverty" (i.e. people living with less than 60% of national median income); "material deprivation" (i.e. people who experience at least four out of nine defined deprivation situations); or "jobless households" (i.e. population defined in relation to zero or very low work-intensity over a whole year). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FRA reports on fundamental rights in 2009 [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) has presented its Annual Report 2010 to the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. The Annual Report gives an overview of developments in the area of fundamental rights for 2009. It presents the challenges in this area, as well as examples of good practices where Member States are successfully protecting fundamental rights. The Report reveals that many equality bodies, national human rights institutions and data protection authorities lack resources, are not independent enough, and often have very weak mandates. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
HABITACT Year One [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The HABITACT steering group met in Brussels on the 3rd June 2010 to review the first year of the network and agree on priorities for the future. The first year of HABITACT has yielded positive results. Outputs include:
-
Preparing a European research/peer exchange project on the relation between local welfare systems and homelessness (which is made up of a consortium of 11 research partners and 20 local authorities) – if this application for funding is successful, it should significantly develop the research strand of HABITACT.
-
A peer review, hosted by the city of Amsterdam, taking Amsterdam homeless policy as a starting point for European exchanges and transposing the PROGRESS peer review method to the local level.
-
Developing an online policy bank with information about local homeless policies. Currently the bank contains more than 70 entries and is growing steadily.
-
Moral patronage from the Committee of the Regions.
Priority issues for the next year include homeless migrants, prevention of homelessness, and testing housing first approaches to homelessness. More information is available in the members’ area of the HABITACT website: http://www.habitact.eu/ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Justice and Home Affairs EU Council Adopts Conclusions on Stockholm Programme [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On the 3rd June 2010, the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on the Stockholm Programme, which defines the framework for EU police and customs cooperation, rescue services, criminal and civil law cooperation, asylum, migration and visa policy for the period 2010–2014. The Council adopted conclusions on unaccompanied minors, stressing the importance of a global approach, and on the follow-up of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ministers of Housing and Urban Development approve Toledo Declaration [30/06/2010] |
|
|
At the 18th Informal Meeting of Housing Ministers of Member Countries of the European Union, held on the 21st June in Toledo, Spain, Ministers adopted a declaration committing to the application of a Spanish proposal for integrated urban regeneration. The Spanish Housing Minister stated that the Toledo Declaration “sets out the European Union's political commitment to defining and applying integrated urban regeneration as one of the key tools of the 2020 Strategy”. Read the final communiqué on the meeting here. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Eurobarometer report reveals more people struggling to make ends meet [30/06/2010] |
|
|
One European in six reports a constant struggle to pay household bills and three quarters believe that poverty has increased in their country over the past year. See more here. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Launch of Dosta! campaign in Italy [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The Dosta! Campaign was launched in Rome on the 7th June. “Dosta” in the Romani language means "enough" and the campaign aims to raise awareness, bring non-Roma closer to Roma citizens and fight prejudices and stereotypes against Roma people. It is organised by Italy’s National Office against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) and the Council of Europe. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Public Hearing on Collective Complaint Against Italy [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On the 21st June 2010, the European Committee of Social Rights held a hearing in the case Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) v. Italy (No. 58/2009). COHRE asks the Committee to find that Italy violates various provisions of the European Social Charter in that: recent so-called emergency security measures and racist discourse have resulted in unlawful campaigns and evictions leading to homelessness and expulsions, disproportionately targeting Roma and Sinti; Italy has allegedly failed to provide migrant workers and their families with protection and assistance notably as regards access to housing and legal redress in cases of forced evictions and expulsions; and the practice of segregation and denial of legal status and social benefits results in failure to protect Roma and Sinti from poverty and social exclusion. The Italian Government asks the Committee to find that the situation of Roma and Sinti in Italy does not give rise to a violation of the Revised Charter as the Italian authorities have invested resources and taken numerous concrete measures to guarantee Article E on non-discrimination. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Belgium: A.M.A. presents priorities to political parties [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Before the recent federal elections in Belgium, FEANTSA member A.M.A. (Association des Maisons d'Accueil et des Services d'aide aux sans-abri (Association of Shelters and Homeless Services)) presented a memorandum to election candidates, reminding them of A.M.A.’s main priorities on financial and economic autonomy for people in homeless shelters, on access to quality housing, on violence in intimate relationships and in the family, on physical and mental health concerns for homeless people, on exile, migration and undocumented migrants and on winter provision, and presenting the main challenge for the next government as putting in place mechanisms that support people to find adequate responses to meet their needs and to move out of homelessness. The memorandum is also available on A.M.A.’s website. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Czech Republic: Seminar on Personal History [30/06/2010] |
|
|
A seminar entitled “Your Story and Mine: Personal History and the Arts as Tools for Empowerment and Social Inclusion“ took place in Prague on the 29th of June. Participating parties were the Michigan Historical Museum and FEANTSA member in the Czech Republic, Nadìje (Hope), in conjunction with the US Embassy. The Michigan Historical Museum presented an arts programme designed to give voice to current and formerly homeless adults in Michigan. Representatives from Nadìje presented their project on the training of workers working in homeless services, as well as “Twenty Years of Social Services of Nadìje“. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ending Homelessness Campaign and EY2010 - Members’ Events [30/06/2010] |
|
|
FEANTSA’s members are continuing ‘Ending Homelessness’ campaign at national and local level with their own events, such as debates and conferences involving key stakeholders implicated in the effort to end homelessness, translating the campaign handbook and hosting the sculpture exhibition opened at the campaign launch event. Members are also running other events on combating homelessness in the framework of EY2010: holding conferences, running a campaign on social inclusion, hosting the “social inclusion games”, and drafting national strategies to combat homelessness, poverty and social exclusion. If you are planning any events as part of the Ending Homelessness Campaign and the European Year, please let us know. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Italy: Consensus Conference Questions Circulated to fioPSD Members [30/06/2010] |
|
|
FEANTSA member in Italy, fioPSD, has circulated the Consensus Conference questions to its members and asked for feedback from homeless service users by 20th June. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spain: European Congress on Poverty and Social Exclusion [30/06/2010] |
|
|
In the context of the European Year for combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and the Spanish Presidency of the European Council, Caritas Spain, in partnership with Caritas Europa, held a European Congress on Poverty and Social Exclusion on the 4th and 5th June. The main political and institutional stakeholders met to debate current analyses of the reality of poverty and to present proposals for the future. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spain: 26% More Homeless People in Catalonia [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Homeless service provider and FEANTSA member in Catalonia, Spain, Fundación Arrels, has reported a 26% increase in the number of people accessing their services since 2008. The association considers the reason for this increase to be the economic crisis. Although more and more young people are becoming homeless, the majority of people Arrels works with are males with an average age of 51 years. The association also reported a 20% increase in the numbers of migrants accessing their services since 2008. The association also foresees problems with providing stable accommodation and quality services, but signals that these are the most important tasks for the future. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spain: 26th May Documents Online [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Two speakers’ presentations and the conclusions of the 26th May working conference on the 10 Proposals to End Homelessness organised by Spanish FEANTSA members are now available on the Members’ Events website. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spain: How to sleep rough – a lesson from Solidarios [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On the 2nd June 2010, FEANTSA member Solidarios, in partnership with the Complutense University in Madrid, gave a “lesson on how to sleep on the streets” in Madrid’s main square. The “class” was intended to raise awareness about people sleeping rough in Spain today, and was part of the campaign “Personas como tú” (“People Like You”) which aims to combat negative stereotypes against homeless people. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
UK: Garden designed and created by homelessness services wins prize [30/06/2010] |
|
|
UK FEANTSA member, Homeless Link, was involved in the creation of the Places of Change Garden – a garden designed and created by homelessness services in England and Wales, which received a silver medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, the UK’s most famous horticultural event. The garden, which is the largest in the event’s history, was created by 500 volunteers from more than 40 homeless agencies, and inmates from eight prisons. It builds on the success of the silver medal award-winning Key Garden at the last year's Show, which was created by more than 200 homeless service users. The garden’s creators hope to demonstrate that homeless service delivery is about more than just providing beds; it can help people develop life-changing self-confidence and skills. It is also hoped that it will help break down some of the negative stereotypes often associated with disadvantaged people. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wales: A third of Eastern European Migrant Workers Become Homeless [30/06/2010] |
|
|
A new study has revealed that 30% of Eastern European migrants in Wales have experienced some form of homelessness. Migrants, attracted to Wales by the hope of employment or to join a family member, find themselves without work and with no entitlement to Government assistance, according to housing charity Shelter Cymru. Most migrants who participated in the study had experienced poor or insecure housing on their arrival in Wales, with some exploited by employment agencies who place them in poor accommodation and throw them out when the job is finished. Many ended up in unstable accommodation or sleeping rough. Shelter Cymru, which carried out the research in conjunction with Swansea and Cardiff universities, has called on the Welsh Assembly Government to tackle the problem, recommending that it do more to raise awareness of services and entitlements among migrants as part of work to implement the Welsh Homelessness Plan. The charity also wants more help for migrants not entitled to state help and for the Assembly Government to collect and publish data on migrant worker numbers. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Austria: More homeless people and more young people becoming homeless [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The economic crisis is at the root of an increase in the number of people becoming homeless in Austria, with a large proportion of them young people, say experts. Emergency accommodation centres in Vienna are at capacity, and other people are forced to sleep on the street. In Linz, the number of homeless people has doubled in the past year. Across Austria, the proportion of homeless young people aged 18 to 30 is now 30%, a figure not seen for twenty years. Particularly difficult for young people is isolation, experts warn. They have, "no resources and no experience in the labour or housing market. Instead, they experience illiteracy, addiction and major social problems." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Czech Republic: New Government to Be “Tough on Homeless People” [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The Czech political party Public Affairs (VV) voted into government on the 29th May 2010 has reportedly proposed a tough approach to “socially unadaptable people”, homeless people and the unemployed. The election comes amid reports from the Czech Helisinki Committee that attacks on homeless people and Roma people in the Czech Republic are increasing. On a related note, Prague City Councillor and former Czech parliamentarian, Jiri Janecek, called an “expert for homeless“, is proposing to build a camp outside the capital, where all the homeless people would be moved from the capital city of Prague. Read more here (in Czech). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
France: “Housing First” State Priority, says Housing Secretary; Promises Maintaining of Housing Reform Calendar [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The reform of housing policy will see big changes in the way access to housing and shelter is organised in France, according to French Housing Secretary, Benoist Apparu. Mr Apparu reports having agreed with homeless support organisations that the logic of “Housing First” should be applied in France as part of the “reprovisioning” (“refondation”) of housing services, to combat people becoming entrenched in homelessness. The state has developed systems to counteract the lack of available housing units to carry out this policy effectively: for example, social organizations working as an intermediary between renters and private landlords has opened up 1500 spaces in housing for vulnerable renters, and the State intends to help local authorities to get back social housing units that had been lost. Another development will be a new type of governance for winter emergency shelter services, a “cultural change” which will see the personalisation of services and encourage associations to work together. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
France: Organisations Urge Government to Keep its Promises to Homeless and Poorly-Housed People [30/06/2010] |
|
|
A collective of 31 organisations working for better housing for homeless people and migrants in France has called on the government to relaunch its plans to improve housing options for homeless people and people in poor housing and has criticized what they see as the gap between promises and reality. In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister for the Environment and the Housing Secretary, the organizations criticize the inertia with regards to policy promises and “alert the government to the existence of a number of factors that could lead to the failure of the current policy” of “reprovisioning” (“refondation”) of housing services, launched in 2008 to run for a period of five years. Their main demands are the continuation of unconditional reception for all vulnerable people, effective homelessness prevention strategies, a focus on the mental health of homeless people and the maintaining of a sufficient budget to carry through reforms. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ireland: Begging restrictions bill criticised [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Critics have expressed concern about new plans to ban begging near bank machines and other premises in Ireland and have warned they do little to address the root cause of the problem. The public order section of the Irish Criminal Justice Bill 2010, which includes restrictions on begging, means that begging will now be an offence where it is accompanied by unacceptable conduct, such as harassment, intimidation or obstruction. Police will also be able to arrest people begging within 10 metres of a cash machine or business and refusing to move. The law’s critics say that it will do nothing to help those who beg out of necessity, and emphasised their conviction that begging was not a choice. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ireland: Homeless woman forcibly released from jail [30/06/2010] |
|
|
A homeless woman with mental health problems was forcibly removed from prison after refusing to take up early release because she had nowhere to go in Dublin. She was returned to the prison the next day after being arrested trying to break back into the facility. One staff member allegedly gave the woman €20 for a hostel, however she protested that no hostel would take her for the night as it was 7pm. This demonstrates the problems that could arise from release from institutions without housing options. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ireland: Many public service interpreters have no qualifications [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Many interpreters working in the Irish courts and for the Garda (the police force of the Republic of Ireland) have no formal qualification to interpret or translate, despite growing concern over poor standards and the potential for miscarriages of justice, according to concerns raised by The Irish Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association. The lack of controls has led to cases where defendants who rely on interpreters to interpret English for them are unaware of rights or even the charges against them because their interpreter has not explained them to them. This can be problematic in asylum hearings, for example. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Malta: Anti-poverty campaign highlights needs of homeless people and asylum seekers [30/06/2010] |
|
|
A press briefing held as part of the 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, in Malta, aimed at combating stereotypes about homelessness and called for support for the integration of migrants in Maltese society and preventing migrant homelessness. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sweden: Perceived Growing Problem with Homeless People from Bulgaria [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Sweden is concerned about the presence of homeless Bulgarians in its capital. The City Hall in Stockholm recently hosted a meeting on the problems of homeless people from other EU countries. It is reported that Bulgarians go to Sweden to work without employment contracts, lured by often bogus promises of work given by unlicensed intermediaries. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Switzerland: More and More Homeless Young People [30/06/2010] |
|
|
More and more young people in Switzerland are seeking shelter with emergency accommodation services, say homeless service providers in the country. For example, the number of people under 25 accessing the Emergency shelter in the town of St. Gallen has increased six-fold since 2008. More than a third of those seeking help younger are than 25. Education and employment are no guarantee against exclusion, service providers say. Current studies are on the actual distribution and the causes of homelessness among young people in Switzerland do not exist, which makes it difficult for care managers to assess the situation. However, what is known is that the situation is less severe in large cities thanks to a well-developed network of institutions working on prevention. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
UK: Charter to improve London homeless service standards [30/06/2010] |
|
|
A new initiative launched on 26th May 2010 aims to improve Day Centres for homeless people across the UK capital. The new voluntary Day Centre Standards charter has been developed by the London Housing Foundation in partnership with some of London’s biggest day centres. There are five key standards in the new charter with themes of change, partnership, responsibility and empowerment running through them. It is hoped that the charter will strengthen the centres’ role in reducing and preventing rough sleeping in the capital. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
UK: Thousands of failed asylum seekers destitute, says Red Cross [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Up to 20,000 failed asylum seekers are living in the UK in conditions of destitution, relying on charities for food, some of them sleeping on the streets, in garages and in hedges, according to a Red Cross report released on the 16th June, which criticises the UK government's asylum system as "shameful" and "inhumane" and suggests that there is a “deliberate strategy to make people destitute”.
Once an asylum request is refused in the UK, the asylum seeker is no longer eligible to receive any State support and remains prohibited from working. The current system has a system of hardship support, known as "Section 4", available to those who have been refused asylum but are taking steps to return to their own country, or who are appealing against the decision. But until they have submitted a new application and this submission is accepted by the government, they are not eligible for support. Later, support they do receive can be hard to access, the report states, and some are unwilling to apply for it because they do not want to return home. The charity calls for a support system that will ensure that individuals have the right to work, and access to healthcare, throughout their application until they are either granted leave to stay or helped to leave the country. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA Government Launching New Initiative to End Homelessness [30/06/2010] |
|
|
On the 22nd June, the White House and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) unveiled a plan to end homelessness in the USA, called Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The strategy seeks to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015 and family and youth homelessness by 2020. Better coordination among the many agencies that try to help homeless people find employment and health care as well as stable places to live is a central component for reaching the Obama administration's ambitious goal of ultimately ending homelessness. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wales: Government to Invest in Preventing Homelessness [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The Welsh Assembly Government has promised £1m of extra funding to prevent homelessness across Wales. The funding has been specifically targeted to ensure that people get the advice and help they need as early as possible. Projects will aim to prevent youth homelessness and helping people affected by redundancy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Call for submissions: Roma Rights edition on Funding Roma Rights [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is looking for original articles and other submissions (book reviews, interviews, conference reports) from a broad range of disciplines addressing the topic: “Funding Roma Rights: Structures, Practices, Challenges and Prospects”. Full articles must be submitted to the ERRC by the 1st September 2010. More information is available on the ERRC website. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Erratum: Photography Exhibition [30/06/2010] |
|
|
In the February 2010 issue of the Flash, FEANTSA incorrectly gives the name of photographer Philippe Gabel as having created the series of photographs ‘Papa, maman, la rue et moi’. The series is in fact the work of Pascal Bachelet. FEANTSA would like to extend its apologies to Mr Bachelet and give him due credit for his work. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
France: Research Project on Homeless Families [30/06/2010] |
|
|
In partnership with UNICEF France, the Research Observatory of FEANTSA member, Samusocial de Paris, is to undertake a research project on homeless families.
The number of parents with children accessing homeless services is increasing, as is the time they spend in such services. The existence of these “families” is nevertheless little recognised and not well known. Available statistics reveal that they experience considerable social difficulties and a worrying rate of poor health, with mental health problems being particularly present.
The study will concentrate on “social trajectories”, living conditions and ways of providing support to these families in the Ile-de-France region. It will look at three key themes: a socio-demographic and epidemiological (studying the spread of disease) survey, concentrating particularly on child development; a study of ethnic origin, concentrating on social and migratory trajectories and the lifestyles of the families studied; an analysis of state action, aiming at understanding the installation and use of support systems.
The research project will last three years. Mid-term results should be available at the end of 2011. More information is available (in French) here. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
UK: Flawed counting system for rough sleepers is to be changed [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The new UK Housing Minister intends to overhaul the Rough Sleeping Count from 2011 “so that it is a credible measure and reflects the reality of the situation”. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Electronic Database of Texts on Application of New Homelessness Strategy [30/06/2010] |
|
|
In a bid to be as transparent as possible, the Chantier national prioritaire 2008 - 2012 pour l’hébergement et l’accès au logement des personnes sans-abri ou mal logés (National priority project for housing homeless or poorly housed people 2008-2012) in France, has put online a database of texts relating to the new French strategy on homelessness. The texts, classified by theme, type and date, concern the application of the strategy, the prevention of evictions without housing options, first-contact homeless services, housing advice and accommodation, housing first principles, different case management techniques and observation and follow-up exercises. The database, as well as other texts, can be consulted on the website of the French Department for Energy and Sustainable Development. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
European Commission 10 Common Basic Principles on Roma Inclusion [30/06/2010] |
|
|
Aimed at policy-makers and practitioners managing programmes and projects, the 10 Common Basic Principles on Roma Inclusion provide a framework for the successful design and implementation of actions to support Roma inclusion. Produced by the European Commission, the publication sets out the 10 Principles and provides explanations and practical examples to help readers put them into practice. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poverty Shouldn’t Be a Life Sentence: Report on Perceptions of Homelessness and Poverty in Canada [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The Salvation Army in Canada has released data to illustrate public perceptions of homelessness and poverty, with the aim of illustrating realities, and laying to rest some commonly-held misconceptions about homelessness and poverty. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Style Guide for Journalists [30/06/2010] |
|
|
The European Network for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion in the Spanish State (EAPN Spain) has presented the ‘Guía de Estilo para Periodistas: Mira a las Personas sin Hogar’ (‘Style Guide for Journalists: Look at Homeless People’, a tool aimed at communications professionals to “give a more realistic and less stereotypical image of one of the most excluded groups living in Spain.” Download the guide here. |
|
|
848 kb
