We are deeply distressed by the Israeli response in Gaza and increasingly the West Bank, which has brought about the suffering and deaths of thousands of civilians, as well as the destruction of essential infrastructure, including housing, hospitals, schools, sanitation and energy networks, and all actions which amount to breaches of international law, as described by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner For Human Rights (Dec 2023).

We believe this atrocious conflict is evolving into a humanitarian catastrophe of enormous proportions, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, which will have devastating consequences for the entire region.

World Habitat will remain guided by its values on human rights and independence in response to these events. As an international charity our beneficiaries are in many countries, they are people of all faiths and backgrounds. We have a responsibility not to discriminate or take sides other than with the principle of human rights and international law.

Throughout our history we have worked with partners and friends in Palestine, Israel, and in neighbouring countries in the middle east, to scale up housing solutions to help people in need. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

Read more:

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The post World Habitat statement on events in Gaza and Israel appeared first on World Habitat.

In the article, our Chief Executive David Ireland said: “The places which are really making progress are those which have got a commitment to social housing and are seeing the need to implement interventionist policies which are stopping the worst effects of the market.”

“I can’t really point to anywhere where the opposite approach is proving successful. And yet, in the UK, all political parties seem to remain very focused on deregulating planning and selling off assets.”

“One thousand homes doesn’t seem like very much, but if you have 50 co-operatives around the country, it does become a major contribution. Being able to get lots of flowers to bloom is the bit that we’re not very good at in the UK. We just assume [that] we’ve already got a structure that works and we just keep pushing that.”

Speaking about Zurich, where the local authority has encouraged the development of affordable housing, including co-operatives and cluster blocks where 10 or 12 flats open into communal areas, citizens don’t see renting as a stepping stone to buying. David commented “I think that once they get into that kind of system, there is another form of rented property they can happily move into and so they can stay in a rental, semi-subsidised situation all their lives.”

“The quality of the accommodation is really high. It’s fantastic. But when you look at what it costs people there, even in an expensive city, [the cost is] relatively low. And [the local authority] did this with not loads of subsidy; the real subsidy was the land, which the city provided at the start,” he adds.

For the full story visit Inside Housing What Europe can teach us about social housing.

The post World Habitat shares insights into great social housing policy in Europe appeared first on World Habitat.

The report in particular highlights the incredible response of our partners to the Ukraine conflict, an update to our vision of an end to homelessness, our new Central and Eastern European ExChange Programme and our response to the climate emergency.

In 2022 all the organisations we support across the European End Street Homelessness Campaign have adapted in different ways to many challenges and World Habitat’s continue to champion organisations working to drive systemic changes in housing provision in their cities. Across 10 European cities – a total of 618 people have been provided with long term sustainable accommodation.

In Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary our housing and homelessness partners were at the forefront responding to people displaced by the Ukraine conflict. As the humanitarian crisis broke, we swiftly provided emergency financial support to help them kick start their service provision and fundraising efforts.

In Hungary, our partners From Streets to Home Association were able to provide accommodation and rent support for 104 Ukrainian families, including 200 adults and 142 children. In Slovakia, our support to Oz Stopa enabled the social work organisation to provide support to 395 adults including 113 mothers and 195 children. In Bucharest, our partners Carusel provided accommodation for 125 adults and 34 children following the immediate influx of refugees. Twelve months later, these same partners have now transitioned to providing longer-term integration support for refugees.

In 2022 we developed a new collaboration with Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI) to update our vision of a world where street homelessness has ended and embed best practice from their work across the Homelessness Programme.

In Autumn 2022 we launched the ambitious Central and Eastern European Homelessness ExChange Programme to support our partners in the region who contend with a lack of suitable housing, difficulties accessing funding, weak or unreliable data on homelessness and lack of political will.

World Habitat is committed to exploring ways to further align housing rights with the climate justice movement. In 2022 we also worked to inform our partners about net-zero and the impact of the climate emergency, including influencing them to set actions to reduce their carbon emissions.

Last year we continued to bring together some of Europe’s most resolute and committed people – all whom reflect the very values of World Habitat itself. Their inspirational stories are featured in the report launched today.

Key figures from 2022 include:

• 724 Ukrainian adults given accommodation and rent support
• 371 Ukrainian children supported
• 618 people placed into long-term accommodation
• 3 emergency donations given to NGO’s responding to the Ukraine conflict
• 7 innovation grants provided to stimulate new areas of research and pilot projets
• 188 people attended Homelessness exChange events in 2022

Patrick Duce, Programme Lead (Homelessness) said:

‘In spite of the many challenges presented to us in 2022 our partners yet again demonstrated that in the face of global crises, communities and rights-based organisations can find the solutions. This lies at the heart of our mission at World Habitat, to celebrate, champion, and help communities develop new innovations, ideas and advances that improve the lives of people across the world.

Through crisis comes opportunity, leadership, and remarkable stories of impact. This report shares those impact stories from across World Habitat’s Homelessness Programme in 2022 – thank you for taking the time to read it and for showing your support. Together, we can end street homelessness.’

The full report is available as a free download here

To find out more about the incredible work taking place to end street homelessness across Europe, sign up to our campaign e-bulletin.

Image: Mirek Pruchnicki

The post Campaign demonstrates extraordinary housing and community response to Ukraine conflict appeared first on World Habitat.

Our vision is a world where street homelessness is prevented from happening, and if it does occur is rare, brief, and non-recurring. To ensure sustainable solutions to street homelessness, housing advocates increasingly look towards housing-led solutions, including Housing First, as a lasting solution. However, that is not the case everywhere. Some countries that face chronic affordable housing shortages, where the provision of welfare and social care is lacking and where homelessness is often managed via systems that can incentivise temporary accommodation or shelter systems, are further away from this reality.

This is especially true for partners of World Habitat’s European End Street Homelessness Campaign who work in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Across this region, structural challenges (lack of affordable permanent housing) and the deprioritisartion of homelessness (inadequate policies or laws to prevent or end homelessness, lack of access to state funding etc) make a systemic shift to a housing-led system a huge challenge. In addition to this there is not enough evidence to prove how such a shift could work in this region.

Uncovering the reality of the housing challenge

To help fill the evidence gap World Habitat have commissioned The Budapest Institute and Metropolitan Research Institute to complete a feasibility study into housing-led approaches in the CEE region. The research, due to be completed this summer, will explore how housing-led approaches could be introduced or expanding in Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on the countries of: Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia.

Ella Hancock, Programme Manager at World Habitat:

‘We are delighted to use our resources and connections to drive change in the region by commissioning this feasibility study into Housing-led solutions in Central and Eastern Europe. We look forward to working with The Budapest Institute and The Metropolitan Research Institute whose expertise in this area is a huge asset to this piece of work, and to sharing independent and robust data and evidence that will accelerate an end to homelessness in the region.’

Budapest Institute for Policy Analysis and Metropolitan Research Institute said

‘We have allied up to examine how housing-led alternatives to unresponsive homeless shelter systems could provide stable and adequate housing solutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Lessons of innovative programs will feed into strategic recommendations to support World Habitat and local actors to catalyse change in the right direction.’

The post World Habitat Commissions Feasibility Study into Innovative Housing-Led Responses in Central and Eastern Europe appeared first on World Habitat.

We have recruited new partners in CEE where the challenges are greater, resources fewer and there is less international focus. However, after 6 years of the EESHC, we know that achieving a sustainable pathway towards reducing street homelessness must be achieved through secure housing-led solutions.

Our mission is to act as a catalyst for change in CEE, ensuring that best practice from within the region and across the EESHC is shared with countries with some of the most challenging housing contexts.

By the end of 2023 we aim to have:

• Developed a clear evidence base for housing-led solutions in CEE
• Collated and shared best practice from across the region to influence policy
• Worked with CEE partners to develop and implement a clear plan for sustainable path to reduce homelessness
• Supported CEE partners to pilot or grow housing-led solutions, such as Housing First

Ella Hancock (Programme Manager), leading this work says ‘World Habitat is committed to tackling housing injustice across the world, particularly in places where the need is greatest. Our experience of hosting the EESHC has shown that the solutions to street homelessness exist, but not everywhere has the resources to implement them.

I’m delighted to launch the CEE homelessness exChange in Budapest this week, featuring housing advocates from Slovakia, Croatia, Romania and Hungary. It will enable the sharing of best practice among a targeted cohort of campaign partners – and provide valuable space for regional expertise and focus on their collective mission of ending street homelessness.’

The post World Habitat launches new Central and Eastern European Homelessness ExChange appeared first on World Habitat.

After a few years break – in which our campaign has been delivered exclusively online – this was a chance for housing advocates from across cities in our growing campaign to share best practice on tackling housing injustice.

We were hosted by Arrels Fundació – who have been part of the campaign since its pilot phase. Their inspirational work in the capital of Catalonia is a beacon for others to follow – particularly their use of high-quality data and evidence of homelessness in the city, their involvement of thousands of community volunteers, and more recently shift towards growing their social enterprise workshops.

The Annual Gathering of Cities theme this year was “Working in partnership with municipalities” – an integral yet challenging part of every housing advocate’s work.

We heard from Barcelona Municipality themselves, in particular their work in the face of the growing financialisaton of housing in the major tourist city while also facing the pressures of migration.

As a campaign we also explored what it means to retain your position fighting for the right to housing, while also retaining constructive relationships with municipalities – especially in countries where the housing context is more challenging and housing rights more under threat.

The post Successful annual gathering in Barcelona for homelessness campaign appeared first on World Habitat.

As the first social worker in the field of homelessness to receive the prestigious award, Pavol is a unique and deserving winner. He has worked tirelessly to support, house, and help to integrate those experiencing homelessness through his work that is underpinned by evidence, is solution-based, and focuses on long term solutions. Pavol and his team have been the first ones out on the streets of Bratislava to assist in emergency situations, such as the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the influx of refugees after the invasion of the Ukraine.

Despite the accolades, Pavol and the local European End Street Homelessness Campaign won’t be resting on their laurels.  Over the summer they will raise greater awareness of the large and unjustified number of empty homes in Bratislava – which has a major impact on housing poverty. Bratislava is a city with a shortage of rental properties for those who cannot afford to buy, the response to homelessness is significantly under-resourced and there is no tradition of solutions such as social housing.

Oz Stopa work tirelessly to raise public awareness and campaign with local and regional politicians for solutions that are long-term, and no quick fixes. Their latest campaign calls for an end to handing out tents, sleeping bags and funding short term shelters that do not resolve or support people away from a life on the streets.

No more tents

No more sleeping bags

No more shelters

Flats for people not for profit

The post Civic Award for Oz Stopa Slovensko’s Pavol Sabela appeared first on World Habitat.

The booklet, published today in English, French and Portuguese, provides a stark reminder of the housing challenges faced in Portugal, but offers 9 years of evidence and impact from CRESCER’s É UMA CASA, Lisboa Housing First. It includes strong evidence of the outcomes of people who have received support from their project, including improvements in access to medical services, length of stays in housing first properties, and improvements in connection with social work programmes.

Key evidence from their housing first programme includes:

• 131 have been integrated into housing
• 90% of tenants did not return to homelessness
• 84% now have access to ID documents and 89% are connected to social services
• 71% of people engaged with healthcare services and 96% of people who needed it, adhered to medication compliance
• Approximately 50% of tenants stopped using illicit or licit psychoactive substances after entering the program
• 47% of tenants restored family ties

The booklet was made by EESHC partner CRESCER and supported by funding through World Habitat’s Innovation Fund.

CRESCER said: “Housing First has been proven to be possible to eradicate chronic homeless situations. Opportunities to spread data about Housing First programs are extremely important to provide the community with information about the impact they can have.”

Ella Hancock (Programme Manager, World Habitat) said “World Habitat are proud to support the work of CRESCER in Portugal, who are making a big impact on the lives of hundreds of people with experience of street homelessness. We are especially keen to help them to share their evidence of what works, so that other cities in the European End Street Homelessness Campaign and beyond can learn from their approach. Housing First, when delivered correctly, can provide an answer to chronic homelessness.”

You can view and download the English, Portugese and French versions of the booklet here.

The post Lisbon publishes evidence of successful housing first programme appeared first on World Habitat.

The project, funded by World Habitat’s Innovation Fund, will deliver a series of Women’s Open Space events, and the grant will enable Action Homeless and their partner organisations to ensure that women’s real-life experiences and insights, which are so often unheard and marginalised, directly inform the development of services in Leicester.

Following successful pilot events, run as a partnership between Action Homeless and The Bridge, the Women’s Open Space will now become an established monthly group which sees women coming together to share experiences and benefit from peer support.

Learning and insight gathered at the events will be shared through networks, including Leicester’s Homelessness Charter and across different European cities so that the voices of women are heard by a wide range of people.

For further information about the Women’s Open Space events, please contact info@actionhomeless.org.uk

Mark Grant, CEO of Action Homeless said:

“This grant from the Innovation Fund is an important step in our progress towards providing better services for women affected by homelessness. We can only do this successfully by listening to women, understanding their experiences, and acting on what we hear.”

Patrick Duce, Programme Lead (Homelessness) at World Habitat, said:

“We are delighted to continue to support our European End Street Homeless Campaign partners in Leicester, to bring marginalised experiences of housing exclusion direct to the services that are working to end street homelessness in the city.

Too often services are delivered to people, not with them, and this grant will provide on-going space to include women’s experience of homelessness and peer support”

The post Women’s Open Space launched in Leicester appeared first on World Habitat.

World Habitat wants to make housing a basic right for everyone. We share this bold and important vision with our newest member of the European Campaign to End Street Homelessness: Bucharest in Romania, led by our partner Carusel.

The European End Street Homelessness Campaign is a network of cities working together to end street homelessness for good.  Hosted and funded since 2015 by World Habitat, the Campaign:

• works with partners in cities including Barcelona, Bratislava, Budapest, Glasgow, Brussels, London, Leicester, Lisbon, Torbay and Zagreb.
• calls for both permanent housing solutions and the necessary support to relieve the pressures that push people into homelessness in the first place.

In Romania, the Social Work Law 292 / 2011 provides the legal definition of homelessness, which includes being on the street, with no house and nowhere to stay.  There is no up-to-date official data regarding the number of people experiencing homelessness nationally and it is only this year, 2022, that the Government has been working on the first national public policy targeting people experiencing homelessness.  In addition to a lack of social housing, people experiencing homelessness face several issues in Romania. To access employment, housing and other services citizens need an official ID, and this is linked to an address. Without an address the Government issues a temporary ID for one year which says you are homeless, which is discriminatory and fosters second class citizenship. In addition, most buildings are privately owned, and wages are low so poor people can’t get credit to rent flats or buy things.  Public perceptions of homelessness in Romania are such that people are often blamed for losing their housing and made to feel shame.

Bucharest-based Carusel provides direct services – such as outreach, shelters, shower van, integrated day centres – to those facing multiple disadvantages.  The NGO supports around 2,500 people a year, including those who are homeless, people living with tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, sex workers, and people who inject drugs.

Dr. Marian Ursan, Director of Carusel, said:

“It is important for us to be part of a European network of organisations sharing the same dream – a world where everyone has a place to live, where, no matter who you are, human rights are respected and where every single person is treated with respect and dignity. A world where solidarity truly is a core value and where no one is left behind.”

David Ireland, Chief Executive of World Habitat said:

“We are delighted to formally welcome Bucharest to the European End Street Homelessness Campaign.  Carusel is already making a tangible difference to the lives of many people, with an impact that goes beyond their size as an NGO.  We look forward to working together to achieve our shared vision of ending street homelessness and making housing a basic right for everyone.”

Since March 2022, Carusel has also been instrumental in frontline emergency efforts, running a shelter for people affected by the conflict in Ukraine.  They provide temporary accommodation, advice, support, food, medical and hygiene supplies, local travel/tickets, and medicines. As we did with Campaign partners in Bratislava and Budapest, World Habitat provided a donation of £5,000 to Carusel to aid this vital emergency work in Romania as the scale of the crisis in Ukraine unfolded.  You can donate directly to support Carusel’s work here:  https://carusel.org/donatii/

Image: Ioana Epure

The post Romanian NGO joins European effort to end street homelessness appeared first on World Habitat.