The European Network of Homeless Health Workers has a LinkedIn discussion group.

ETHOS, the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion, is now available in German, Hebrew, Portuguese, Slovenian and Ukrainian.

Registrations are open for the European Research Conference on “Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe”.  The conference will be held on the 21st September 2012 at the University of York, United Kingdom.  You can consult the Draft Programme already.  For more information and to register, please consult the FEANTSA Research website.

FEANTSA co-hosted a seminar focusing on funding strategies and relating to homelessness, with HABITACT and the EU Committee of the Regions on the 8th June 2012.  The programme included: planning and budgeting; diversification of funding sources and cost-effectiveness.  The seminar report and the seminar presentations are now online.  This years’ seminar was also on Twitter.

Nine MEPs and 65 trade unions, civil society organisations, health organisations and industry associations sent an open letter to the June Summit of the European Council on health and austerity measures, which calls on European leaders to stop cutting essential health and welfare systems and to start focusing on ordinary people living in Europe coping with the dire impact of a financial crisis of which they are the first victims. The coalition is led by the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), whose recent briefing note summarises the evidence of the impact of the financial crisis on human health. The evidence in rising suicides, mental health problems and rates of infectious disease are warning signs that current policies are leading Europe in a dangerous direction.  FEANTSA was one of the signatories.  See the EPHA press release for more information.

On 8th June 2012, FEANTSA and Housing Rights Watch launched a campaign against the criminalisation and penalisation of homelessness and poverty in Europe, called “Poverty is Not a Crime!”.  The campaign was officially launched with parallel events in Belgium, France and selected cities across Europe.  Visit www.povertyisnotacrime.org if you want to be involved in the campaign.  Materials, including t-shirts and posters, will soon be available via the website.

FEANTSA has more than 1000 followers on Twitter!  Follow us for updates on FEANTSA activities and shared information about homelessness.  You can also keep up with what we are doing on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

In the framework of the EU2020 Strategy, EU Member States must submit National Reform Programme (NRP) reports every year, documenting their progress on social inclusion and tackling poverty.  FEANTSA analysed each report and extracted information on homelessness, housing policies for homeless people, employability initiatives and the quality of social services, which it includes in its response to the European Commission.  Twelve countries explicitly mention homelessness, which shows that Investment in homelessness reduction is emerging as a priority in the Europe2020 growth strategy.

Social innovation is an increasingly central area of policy and research in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy.  “Social Innovation to Combat Homelessness: A Guide” makes the case that homelessness is an important thematic priority for social innovation, and suggests areas of focus where social innovation can support the fight against homelessness in the EU.  It argues that homeless service providers can be key actors in social innovation and makes recommendations as to how the sector can best be supported in developing, testing and scaling up innovations in order to combat homelessness and thus contribute towards progress on the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.

This Good Practice Briefing, entitled “Social Rental Agencies: An Innovative Housing-led Response to Homelessness” was drafted by Pascal De Decker of Sint-Lucas School of Architecture in co-operation with the FEANTSA office and the members of the FEANTSA Housing Working Group.  The FEANTSA housing working group believes that ending homelessness requires developing, testing and scaling up a range of effective housing-led responses to homelessness. This report puts forward Social Rental Agencies (SRAs) as an example of a housing-led innovation in the area of homelessness.  It demonstrates that the SRA model has considerable potential to help meet the housing needs of homeless people in Europe.

Cyprus will take on the rotating Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers on 1st July 2012.  In a recent speech, the Cypriot ambassador to the EU said that the priorities for the six-month Presidency will be to adhere to the fundamental values of the EU, ensuring solidarity, social cohesion and a better quality of life for EU citizens, especially young people, as well as effectiveness and growth.  One of the key issues that will be dealt with during the Cyprus Presidency is the negotiations of the new Multiannual Financial Framework covering the period 2014-2020, which is a mechanism for ensuring that EU spending is predictable and subject to budgetary discipline.  More information is available on the Cypriot Presidency’s website.

In its Conclusions on "Responding to demographic challenges through enhanced participation in the labour market and society by all", the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council of the European Union (bringing together Social Affairs Ministers from all EU Member States), invites the Member States and the European Commission to “develop and promote adequate schemes for persons who are homeless”.

The latest European Commission Eurobarometer (public opinion survey) report on “Monitoring the social impact of the crisis: public perceptions in the European Union (Wave 6)” has sections on the perceived degree of financial difficulty experienced by European households, views on the future affordability of accommodation, opinions about the employment situation and changes in healthcare and social care affordability.  While few people overall feel at risk of losing their home, the level of concern about losing one’s home has increased significantly in some Member States.  In relation to employment, nearly one respondent in five is not confident that they will manage to hold on to their job over the next 12 months.

HABITACT compiles information in its online Policy Bank in order to facilitate information exchange on local homeless strategies. The Policy Bank contains entries for cities in many EU countries giving information on their homelessness policies and services.  Previously only available to members, the Policy Bank will become public on the 2nd July 2012 after a decision of HABITACT steering group to make more resources available to local civil servants responsible for designing homelessness policies. More information at info@habitact.eu

A new European network, Social Services Europe, has been launched to strengthen the profile and position of social services, and to promote the role of not-for-profit social service providers throughout Europe.  Social Services Europe brings together seven Europe-wide networks of not-for-profit providers of social and healthcare services, of which FEANTSA is one. Its website is now online.

Having a bank account should be made a legal right for the 10% of EU citizens who currently do not have one, including homeless people, those on very low incomes, students, people with no credit record and expatriate workers, the European Parliament has said in a Resolution. MEPs called on the European Commission to table legislation by January 2013 to tackle this financial exclusion. Low-cost payment accounts for everyday transactions must be offered to all, the resolution says.

The Relais Social de Charleroi has published the proceedings of its October 2011 conference called “Sortir du sans-abrisme: Interrogeons les mythes de l’action sociale” (“Exiting Homelessness: Questioning the Myths Around Social Intervention”) online and in book format.

St Mungo’s has launched an 18-month campaign entitled Rebuilding Shattered Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the issues faced by homeless women and find policy and practice solutions.  The charity says more than ten percent of people sleeping rough in London are women and half of those living in temporary accommodation are women, but the services available to them have been mainly designed for men, so adapted solutions must be found.
Experts from different charity and voluntary organisations will gather evidence from practitioners and individuals across the UK on nine themes including domestic abuse, families and children, childhood trauma, employment and education. St Mungo’s female clients will also contribute their ideas and experiences of what works.  St Mungo’s will to produce a policy report at the end of the campaign with the aim of improving the life of homeless women and create a national showcase of best practice. 
In St Mungo’s experience, homeless women can often face greater hurdles than homeless men.  A 2012 survey of St Mungo’s female clients found:

• 34 per cent that have slept rough say domestic violence led directly to their homelessness
• 45 per cent are mothers, many of whom have been separated from their children and are struggling to cope with limited contact with them
• 66 per cent have a mental health problem
• 55 per cent have a substance use need (either drugs and/or alcohol).

Ten UK charities, of which Crisis, Homeless Link and Shelter are FEANTSA members, have sent an open letter to the Prime Minister warning that his proposal to cut housing benefit for people under 25 could drive up homelessness at a time where youth unemployment is already at record levels and households are struggling.  They say that many young people don’t have the option of living with their parents, for example people who have grown up in the state care system.

Doctors of the World Belgium has called on the country’s three regions to use the summer months to “develop appropriate healthcare measures” for vulnerable people and people in housing need.  They have reiterated the fact that 82% of vulnerable people do not have a personal doctor and call for measures to ensure that at least 80% of people leaving night shelters have access to a doctor.  Shelters should use the time when people are in their shelters during the winter to help them with administrative problems they may have; 52% of them have no health insurance for example.  Doctors of the World also call for a policy of prevention for people living on the streets, such as flu vaccinations.  Lastly, they have repeated their call urging housing ministers to make sure each city has a list of housing that is adapted to the needs of people made vulnerable by homelessness.

A project run by the Law Clinic at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Croatia, in cooperation with city libraries providing computer skills training to homeless people, targets homeless people, providing them with legal aid and informing them about their rights.  At the Clinic, students provide free legal aid to citizens who need such help. So far, the Clinic has prepared several presentations covering social rights, health insurance, residence and domiciliation and veterans’ rights, which can be given to people working with homeless people and homeless people themselves. The Clinic is thinking about expanding the project to other cities in Croatia.

The French Housing Minister has unveiled a series of measures that aim to guarantee housing-excluded people « a way out of the winter emergency accommodation system » and « to make sure that every person and every family can be rehoused ».  The allocation of housing or other sustainable types of accommodation should be done on a case-by-case basis, said the minister. 
In the Paris region, where there is greater demand for accommodation, three emergency accommodation centres will stay open after the 1st of July cut-off point, to “ensure sustainable accommodation especially for homeless women, of which some have experienced violence.”  The rest will close as normal - about which FEANTSA member FNARS has expressed its surprise.
The minister demonstrated her wish to break free of a « seasonal system, which reproduces the same distresses every year ».  The Délégation interministérielle à l’hébergement et à l’accès au logement (interministerial committee for accommodation and access to housing) will be given the task of putting in place a system that can provide solutions all year round.

A new project will study the number of rough sleepers who die in France and the causes of their deaths.  The Collectif Les Morts de la Rue (Street Deaths Collective) draws attention to this reality and commemorates the homeless people who die whilst on the streets – 264 so far this year in France, 395 in 2011.  Its aim is to raise awareness of the situation and encourage political action in favour of homeless people.  The group wants to raise awareness about the fact that the average age of death for rough sleepers is 48 years, whereas for the general population it is 80 years.  Contrary to popular belief, hunger and cold are not the main causes of death (they only account for 5% of all street deaths) – rather violence causes half of all the deaths.  Suicide rates are also 100 times higher among this group than among the general population.  In the absence of official statistics, the Collective analyses hospital, police and NGO records as well as relying on information given to them by local residents.  They suspect these numbers are underestimated.  One reason for the lack of official statistics is that pathologists are not obliged to record a death if the person is homeless.  Another is that the homeless people who die are not necessarily in hospital, so their deaths can go unnoticed.  Deaths among people living outside are only officially recorded during the wintertime when special measures are in place.  The Collective also believes that deaths among homeless people are effectively hushed up because admitting their existence would admit the failure of public policy.  However, a change is taking place – the Collective has managed to secure a long-term cooperation agreement with the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research which will study the existing statistics and carry out a large-scale evaluation of the situation.

In Italy, losing one’s house also means losing the right to have basic medical assistance in the form of a general practitioner (family doctor), which is reserved by law for those who have a legal residence.  People who lose their homes are deleted from the local register and only have the right to emergency healthcare after that.  With 40 thousand Italians at risk of losing their homes as a result of the crisis, these criteria mean that the guarantee of a constitutional right to healthcare for all is under threat.  The organization "Avvocato di Strada Onlus" has criticised this situation and has drawn up an ad-hoc proposal for a law to put it right.  They have sent the proposal to a senator and a member of parliament, asking them to present it to parliament and the Health Minister.

The Riga City Council welfare department is considering a possibility to reduce comfort in night shelters “so that homeless people have less wish to stay in them, especially young homeless people”, according to the belief that special services should only be provided to people with a short experience of homelessness so that they do not get used to life as a homeless person.  Statistics show that the number of visitors at shelters has risen by at least one third since 2008 - from 1,949 people in 2008 to 3,289 people in 2011.  The number of young people staying in shelters is also rising.  The city council will also ban begging in the city centre given the increasing numbers of tourists that visit it.

A parliamentary question in the Luxembourgish Parliament led to a discussion on the possibility of having a national homelessness strategy in the country.  Reports say there was widespread agreement among the politicians that this was useful and that such a strategy should focus on Housing First.  As a result, the strategy should be ready by the end of the year.

Official figures show that 13,130 people were accepted as homeless between January and March 2012 in the UK, 16% more than the same period in 2011 and two per cent more than in the previous quarter.  From May 2011 to May 2012, there were 50,290 acceptances, up from 44,160 in 2010-11.  On 31st March there were 50,430 households in temporary accommodation, five per cent more than on the same date a year earlier, and two per cent more than in the previous quarter.  Almost two-thirds of those households have dependent children, the highest proportion since records began in 1998. Last year, in the first rise since 2004, an extra 500 households who became homeless included a pregnant woman.  The figures also show a rise in homeless lone parents - 25,620 compared with 21,870 last year.  Commentators say that after years of falls this rise is an indirect result of the changes in the housing benefit system and people are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing.  At the same time, figures released by Homeless Link (FEANTSA member) reveal that almost 4,000 bed spaces have been lost in accommodation services for homeless people, while demand has risen.
The UK Housing Minister has now announced that funding will be increased for advice and support services for frontline staff helping families facing homelessness.  The funding, to be shared between Shelter (FEANTSA member) and the Citizens Advice Bureau, will help provide: training for homelessness advisors; a National Information Service to keep advisers up-to-date on homelessness prevention law; help with mortgage debt and money advice for those at risk of repossession and legal services for local advice bodies like councils and voluntary organisations.

The European Housing Forum has made recommendations to the EU, based on a series of four lectures on “Good housing for all: cities as frontrunners, or under pressure? EU policy recommendations from the URBACT II project SUITE”, “Shaping or Shadowing? Understanding and Responding to Housing Market Change”, “Freedom of Choice? The Role of Policy in Choosing Living Arrangements” and “Privatisation of Housing Stock in Europe – Implications for Policy”. FEANTSA is a partner of this project.

This Eurofound study focuses on debt advisory services, especially on how access to and quality of services can be improved. The study identifies successful debt counselling measures and outlines the conditions that contribute to good practice. The study brings together international data and literature on the topic, providing an overview and a comparative perspective. The research draws on evidence from country studies in Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden.  Each country study includes case studies of specific debt advisory services.

The report on a two-year study focusing on understanding the lives of people with experience of homelessness and/or multiple exclusion is now available.  The new term ‘multiple exclusion homelessness’ was developed specifically to enable analysis of the lives of those people in society who are among the most vulnerable.  Rather than creating a new layer of the homeless population, the ‘multiple exclusion’ focus aimed to bring into view the complex interplay of issues such as: worklessness, poverty, severe mental health problems, drug and alcohol dependencies, state care, the criminal justice system and so on. It was of central interest to the researchers to explore how coping and survival strategies were played out; for example, sex work, begging, criminality, street drinking and drug-dealing, and what connection, if any, these activities had to the prevalence and experience of homelessness.

The experience of homelessness not only affects physical health, but can also constrain access to required healthcare. In a number of European countries, national strategies to tackle homelessness have sought to deliver integrated solutions across housing, health and other social policy areas. This article examines approaches to meeting the healthcare needs of homeless people in relation to such strategies, drawing upon recent research in Norway and Scotland. It presents a comparative analysis of approaches to service provision in relation to welfare models and the concepts of universal and specialist provision. The analysis suggests a cross-national shift in the conceptualisation of appropriate responses to the healthcare needs of those who experience homelessness. The provision of some specialist health services, while reflecting a selective model of welfare, need not be solely interpreted as conflicting with a more universal model of ensuring access to mainstream services. Rather, the challenge is to recognise the need for a process approach which supports an effective transition from the (sometimes necessary) use of specialist services for this group, towards (the ideal of) full integration into mainstream healthcare.

This report presents a case study of a landlord choosing to make accommodation units available to a homeless shelter during the cold winter months so that people without housing could rent them at minimal rent levels.  The landlord provided the accommodation and the organisation provided social support to each tenant so that the experience proved positive for each of them.  This experience led front-line workers to realise that the winter period, because of its harsh conditions, can be useful in persuading private landlords to make their accommodation available as well as encouraging homeless people to take up offers of accommodation even when they seem very far from this goal.  The Relais Social de Charleroi won the 2012 Belgian Federal Government Combating Poverty Prize for this project.

The results of a study commissioned by the Nord-Rhein-Westphalia Ministry of Labour, Integration and Social Affairs, called “Homeless People with Migrant Backgrounds in North Rhine-Westphalia: Investigating their Circumstances”, are now available.  Its recommendations include: openness to interculturality; addressing homelessness among people with a migratory background as a cross-cutting issue; specific target group-oriented strategies and understanding the possible influence of EU migration policy on homelessness; recognising the fact that prejudice, discrimination and racism against certain ethnic groups can lead to homelessness and the fact that some migrants also become homeless for other reasons, common among many homeless people, rather than because they are migrants.

This research summary presents key interim findings from the Sustain project – a longitudinal qualitative research study exploring the use of the private rented sector to accommodate homeless people and those in housing need, as well as exploring housing wellbeing. The research is working in three different regions with people who have received support to move into their tenancies from statutory, voluntary and charity agencies.  The study is the result of a partnership project between Shelter and Crisis, UK FEANTSA members.