May 2021
Welcome back to the FEANTSA Flash!
May was a busy month, with the launch of our 6th Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe taking place, focusing on the challenges faced by young Europeans when accessing the housing market. Meanwhile, we have been gearing up for what promises to be an important month for tackling homelessness, this June. On the 21st, the Portuguese presidency of the Council will hold a high-level conference to launch the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness. The ceremony for FEANTSA’s Ending Homelessness Awards will take place during the event, showcasing three inspiring projects providing sustainable solutions to homelessness. Keep an eye on our social media and stay updated on these key events.
Read ahead:
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FEANTSA Reacts to the Porto Social Summit
FEANTSA welcomes leaders’ commitment to “reducing inequalities, defending fair wages, fighting social exclusion and tackling poverty, taking on the objective of fighting child poverty and addressing the risks of exclusion for particularly vulnerable social groups,” in particular for homeless people. Furthermore, we recognise the foundational role of the Porto Declaration in the establishment of the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness. Read our full reaction.
Call for contributions – Good practices for supporting mobile EU citizens
Are you participating in a project or organization focusing on destitute mobile EU citizens? FEANTSA is collecting good practices in supporting homeless mobile EU citizens. Tell us about your project here.
Now available: PRODEC e-learning modules
Do you want to know more about the rights of destitute mobile EU citizens experiencing homelessness in the cities of the European Union?
Don't miss FEANTSA's EU Free Movement Guide! This e-learning material is a series of four training modules on EU free movement, designed for professionals working to protect and promote the rights of destitute mobile EU citizens.
The first module is an Introduction to EU free Movement & the Right to Reside. See it here.
Joint letter calling on the EU to investigate the UK’s new migration rules
The UK’s new immigration rules are putting the lives of EU citizens at risk and punishing those forced to sleep rough. We are extremely concerned about the impact of these new immigration rules which could push rough sleepers into exploitative work & away from support services. We call on the EU to investigate the new rules and ensure EU citizens already in the UK are safe. Read the open letter.
We also joined 60+ organisations across the channel in a letter condemning UK plans to remove rough sleepers. Find it here.
We join EPHA and 20 other organisations in call for a 12-point vaccine equity plan in the EU
Despite the identification of vulnerable populations as priority groups in the October 2020 European Commission Communication on preparedness for COVID-19 vaccination strategies and vaccine deployment, more action is needed to ensure vaccine equity becomes a reality across the EU. Read the letter and 12 recommendations.
You can find the recording of our webinar on vaccine campaigns for homeless people in Europe, here.
FEANTSA’s contribution to the Call for inputs on Housing discrimination and spatial segregation
The next thematic reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing will focus on discrimination, including spatial inequalities and segregation in urban or rural-urban environments. The reports will try to identify contemporary and historical forms of discrimination and segregation that affect the right to adequate housing, and to highlight good practices in preventing housing discrimination and segregation. Read our submission to the call by the UN Special rapporteur on adequate housing here. Find the submission by FEANTSA members in the Netherlands here.
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Mark your agenda: Ending Homelessness Awards and launch of EU Platform on Combatting Homelessness
June 21st promises to be a big day for tackling homelessness in the EU. The Portuguese presidency of the European Council will hold a high-level conference to launch the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness and provide an occasion for ministers to sign a political declaration on homelessness. The ceremony for FEANTSA’s Ending Homelessness Awards will take place during the event, showcasing three inspiring projects providing sustainable solutions to homelessness. Registration to participate in the event online will open shortly.
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Save the date: FEANTSA Policy Conference 2021
A year after the pandemic forced us to move our annual conference online, FEANTSA is delighted to announce that our 2021 Policy Conference will take place on November 5th in Bratislava in the form of a hybrid event which can be attended in person and online. Registrations will open by August, so stay tuned to avoid missing out!
Webinar on Improving Harm Reduction services for people who use drugs/alcohol in situations of homelessness
Smes and FEANTSA are excited to invite you to a joint webinar on Harm Reduction (HR) service provision for people who use drugs and alcohol in situation of homelessness. The webinar aims at contributing to the improvement of services for people who use drugs/alcohol (PWUD) in situations of homelessness, in particular regarding the provision of Harm Reduction support. Find out more and register to join on the 18th June, here.
Housing First Europe Hub - Housing First for Women Meeting, 10 June 2021
As part of the Housing First Europe Hub’s series of informal discussions on 'emerging themes' in Housing First, they will host their second informal online meeting to talk about Housing First for Women. Register here.
Furthermore, submissions are still open for the Hub’s Housing First Early Career Researcher Award. More information and submission criteria here.
Webinar on digital inclusion for homeless people and homeless service providers
Digital inclusion and specifically the access to information and communication technology for homeless people has always been a relevant issue for FEANTSA members. In recent times where a global health crisis has meant a transformation of most public (as well as private) services across the EU to an online format, this topic becomes even more pertinent for the membership of FEANTSA. Join us on June 29th to better understand the benefits, challenges, and solutions relating to digital inclusion. Find out more and register here.
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The 6th Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe 2021
4% of Europeans have been homeless at least once in their lifetimes. Younger people are finding it harder and harder to find housing. 1/3 young people who have stopped working since the pandemic say they are having difficulty finding or paying for housing. These are just some of the findings of this years Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe. The full report and individual chapter PDF’s are now available on our website, where you can also watch the launch.
European Journal of Homelessness: COVID-19 Response and Homelessness in the EU
A research note on COVID-19 and homelessness by Ruth Owen and Miriam Matthiessen is available now. This research note aims to take stock of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people experiencing homelessness and services around Europe, what kinds of responses were rolled out in different contexts during Europe’s first and second waves, and what can and should be done going forward. Find this and a handful of other new articles in journal 15.1.
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Hogar Sí and Provivienda launched an evaluation of the Housing First model in Spain
The document gathers the main results obtained in the external assessment of Hábitat, the first programme developed in Spain using the Housing First approach. The results show that Hábitat is a quality institutional response to homelessness to which it is efficient to dedicate funding. Access the webpage here or read the executive report in English.
New Shelter Cymru research reveals 1/3 people in Wales impacted by housing emergency
One in three people (34%) in Wales have been impacted by the housing emergency, says new research conducted on behalf of Shelter Cymru. The research shows that over a million children and adults in Wales are living in unsafe or unaffordable housing. This includes everything from families forced to choose between paying rent or mortgage payments and buying food, to people living in homes riddled with damp, mould and disrepair. They launch their campaign Fight for Home to call for an end to this crisis.
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#LookTalkAct, an initiative by Menhely Alapítvány to challenge prejudices about homeless people through art
The Hungarian organisation is looking for amateur and professional artists who would like to create an art piece, with a social and optimistic perspective, to transform the image of people sleeping on the streets. Applications are open until the 30th of June. The aim of #LookTalkAct is to create an international art collection that will be exhibited and published in various European cities and featured in an access free digital collection –under the Creative Commons license– so that NGOs, companies, institutions, and individuals have access to optimistic and transformative visual resources related to homelessness. How you look at things can change everything. Find more here.
Bruss’Help publishes the full report of the last count of homeless and inadequately housed people in the Brussels-Capital Region
The report points to an alarming rise in the number of homeless youths: 933 minors were counted living in centers and squats, up from 612 in 2018, a worrying increase made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic which has exacerbated injustices and pre-existing situations. Read the full report here.
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Spain - The Spanish Parliament has approved the introduction of aporophobia into the Spanish Criminal Code
Aporophobia is a neologism created by the Spanish philosopher Adela Cortina to refer to the “rejection of the poor”. It describes an adverse attitude from the non-poor against the poor, which can lead to hate and, in the most extreme cases, to hate crime against poor people including the homeless. The official recognition of aporophobia as a hate crime will facilitate the reporting, measurement and prevention of violence against homeless people. La Maria has more.
USA - When No Landlord Will Rent to You, Where Do You Go?
The New York Times paints a bleak picture of how extended-stay hotels and motels became the last housing option for thousands of low-income Americans. Read or listen to the article.
Belgium - Social rent reform pushes people into the hands of slum landlords
The Flemish government wants to thoroughly reform the social housing policy. From 2023, vulnerable families are at risk of finding social housing much more difficult. Experts and organisations working on the ground are warning of disaster if the Flemish government does not change its course. Find out more.
Europe - For the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, "Europe is sorely lacking in affordable housing"
Youth in danger, the tide of homelessness rising, an endless increase in rents… For the sixth consecutive year, FEANTSA and the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, published our Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe. In the article, Le Liberation speak to Sarah Coupechoux, co-author of the report, to find out more.
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Survey by Greens reveals widespread public support for combatting homelessness in the EU
An IPSOS survey commissioned by the Greens/EFA group reveals the views of Europeans on several key housing and social rights issues. Among the findings, the poll reveals an EU-wide average of 62% of respondents agree that the EU should support their country in dealing with homelessness, while 77% would like their governments to do more to provide adequate housing. Take a look at the findings here.
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Spain ratifies the European Social Charter that protects new social rights
FEANTSA welcomes Spain's full ratification of the revised European Social Charter, which recognises the right to housing. By accepting the Charter, Spain commits to promoting access to adequate housing and to preventing and reducing homelessness with a view to its gradual elimination. Read more.
Toward a European Homelessness Policy
"The issue of homelessness is currently a real issue on both a local and a European level, which calls for a meticulous and ambitious analysis and revision of policies and initiatives." New paper from Jacques Delors Institute makes pertinent proposals for EU action:
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Strategy on homelessness
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Monitoring homeless policies
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Minimum standards for homeless services
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Data through city counts
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Funding for housing solutions
Hungary - Streetlawyer Association’s Opinion about the Amendment on the Privatisation of Public Housing Scheme
On 11 May 2021, László Böröcz, Fidesz MP, initiated the amendment of the Housing Act and the National Property Act. Under the proposal, tenants of municipal and state-owned flats will be entitled to buy the flats for a discounted price. According to several NGOs, research institutes specialized in housing and the Streetlawyer Association, this will further reduce the stock of state and municipality-owned housing schemes, further increasing the housing crisis. Find out more here or read about the work that Városkutatás Kft. Metropolitan Research Institute is doing on the topic.
Digitalisation and social innovation to foster collaboration between organisations working with homelessness, a workshop in the European Social Economy Summit
FEANTSA attended the European Social Economy Summit's session on digitalisation and homelessness, where speakers discussed digital inclusion and how digital tools can allow organisations to collaborate better. The following organisations presented their projects: Solinum (France), Reconnect (France), and Integreat (Germany). FEANTSA also presented the main findings of the policy paper "Digital inclusion for homeless people and homeless service providers: an analysis of benefits, challenges, and solutions", which will be published very soon.
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