CommitteeonCivilLiberties,JusticeandHomeAffairs(LIBE

Roofoveroneʼshead:Despitethedatashowingthattherearemorethan11millionhousesleempty throughoutEurope,around700,000personsfacehomelessnesseachnightinEurope,accountingfora 70%increasesince2010.HowcantheEUtacklethehousingcrisisandachieveitstargetofending homelessnessby2030?

by KacperLubiewski(PL)andIvaPetrešević(RS)

1. Backgroundandrelevance

Over 700,000 individuals are sleeping on the streets of Europe every night, as over the past decade the number of rough sleepers has increased by 70%. Ashousingisconsideredafundamentalright31 , homelessness is considered one of the most extreme showcases of poverty and hardships. However,homelessnessisnotonlydefinedassleepingrough,asitcanalsoimplylivingintemporary, insecure,orpoor-qualityhousings.

In general, homelessness comes as a result of various issues, including unemployment, migration, finances, or criminal offences. Yet, it is oen thought that rough sleepers are to blame for their situation, and are oen seen as lazy and irresponsible, which is caused by the stigma that has been createdaroundthetopic.

The biggest problems that occur as a consequence of sleeping rough are health and safety issues, decreased life expectancy, social isolation, as well as limited access to basic public services and benefits. These issues frequently lead to rough sleepers encountering abuse, kidnappings, and in some extreme cases, even modern slavery32 . Additional aspects leaving rough sleepers extremely vulnerablearetheextremeweathereventscausedbythechangingclimate.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has not only contributed to the increase in the number of rough sleepers, but also caused a decrease in the support offered to these individuals. Ever since the breakout of the virus, a substantial number of job losses have been recorded in Europe, further burdeningtheissueofhomelessnesswithintheEU. Strict restrictions to healthcare access, as well as extensive financial difficulties, have negatively impactedfundingsofsupportorganisations,andsheltersforhomelesspeople.

31 Fundamental rights are rights granted by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human rights, that requireahighdegreeofprotectionfromthegovernments. 32 Modernslaveryisasevereexploitationofotherpeopleforpersonalorcommercialgain.

The surge of this problemisfollowedbytheincreaseinthenumberofmigrants,minorities,families, women, young people, and children on the streets. Youthhomelessness,alsoreferredtoashidden homelessness, has likewise experienced a significant rise in the past decade. It is important to highlight the diversity of youth homelessness, as individuals between the ages of 13 to 26 fall under this group. For instance, young people who le the state care and members of the LGBTQIA+ are disproportionatelyatriskofexperiencinghomelessness.

ImageSource:AlarmingtrendshowshomelessnesscrisisacrossEurope

2. Keystakeholders

The Directorate-General for Employment, Social AffairandInclusion(DG-EMPL)isoneoftheexecutive agencies of the European Commission. DG-EMPL deals with and focuses on the set policies on homelessness, inclusion, and domestic affairs. There are numerous set-out policies regarding health,socialinclusion,andhumanrights,asawayofaddressingthecausesofhomelessness. By providing guidance on defying homelessness within the Social Investment Package, the Commission highlights theimportanceofthesupportroleoftheEuropeanUnion,byexploringtrends, goodpractices,andcrucialelementsonhomelessnessstrategiesacrossMemberStates.

European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that consists of over 130 Member organisations from 27 Member States. It is alsosupportedbytheEuropeanCommission.FEANTSAisexclusivelyfocusingon

the fight against homelessness, and their ultimate goal is to eradicate the issue by constantly being engaged in dialogues with different European institutions, as well as national and regional governments.Moreover,FEANTSAconductsresearchandprovidesthegeneralpublicwithcrucialdata, aimingtoshareahighlevelofunderstandingofissuessurroundinghomelessness.

HOPE is an NGO uniting homeless individuals and those who are at immediate risk of becoming homeless. Their main purpose is spreading knowledge on how to protect and advance the rights of rough sleepers, and promoting the importance of practical and political troubles surrounding this issue.

The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation, guided by the basis provided in their founding Charter. Through their 17 Sustainable Development Goals, notably 1-nopoverty,8-decent work andeconomicgrowth,10-reducedinequalities,and11-sustainablecitiesandcommunities,the UN is urging for action and implementation of adequate strategies regarding the aforementioned deprivations. Furthermore, the UNNGOWorkingGrouptoEndHomelessness(WGEH)isaninitiative createdtobattletheissueofhomelessnessonaninternationallevel.ItismadeupofnumerousNGOs which are oen cooperating with academic institutions, such as DePaul University. The initiative aimstomitigateandeventuallyeliminatehomelessnessonagloballevel.

ClickheretoviewtheStakeholderMaponMiro.

3. Challengesandmeasuresinplace

There are not many challenges as multifaceted, nuanced, and intersectional as the housing crisis. Despite the fact that the biggest international organisations, including the EU, have underlined homelessness as one of their top priorities, every day thousands of EU citizens are forced to sleep rough, waiting for their situation to get better. Experts point out the lackofaffordablehousingasthe most significant cause of homelessness andemphasisethestill-existingstigmaaroundthecrisisand those affected by it. It is important to highlighttheintersectionalnatureofhomelessness,andhowit is connected to other modern-day critical dilemmas of food safety, access to healthcare, and ongoing gentrification33 . It is obvious, that any person molested by low income, will have tochoose between buying food, needed drugs, and rent. Finally, it is youth homelessness that we should pay extraattentiontoasitsrateshavebeensoaringinthepastfewyears.

Lackofaffordablehousing

Lack of affordable housing is perhaps the most fundamental issue in relation to the housing crisis. From an initial point of view, it is also easy to understand - if there were plenty ofaffordablehousing options for people of all backgrounds, there would be no need to sleep rough. The market would provide the citizens with various housing choices, even if they are young, dependent on government assistance, belong to the working class, or a minority group. However, that is not thecase.Firstly,we should recognise the current clashing motivations of the clients and investors. The clients - those looking for housing - obviously need relatively cheap housing which will not be accounting for the significant majority of their expenses. With the present status quo, however, high-level investment focuses on more exclusive and more expensive options as they bring them higher profits. Furthermore, we have been observing steadily a rising cost of labour and building materials, as, for instance, the trade wars between the worldʼs biggest economies made lumber, which accounts for around 10%ofahouseʼsvalue,ridiculouslyexpensive.Thisisinadditiontotheconstantoverallcostof living getting higher across Member States. On a positive note, all EU Member States will invest at least 25% of their European Social Fund resources in social inclusion and at least 3% to address materialdeprivation,buttheeffectsofthisdecisionareyettobeseen.

Intersectionality

The housing crisis does not exist on its own - it is interconnected with many other challenges and thus must be treatedholistically.Ifconsumersarenotprotectedfromtherisingpricesoffood,fuel,or overall cost of living, it puts additional pressure on their personal finances, forcing them to choose between everyday needs and long-term financial certainty. Unemployment can also not be overlooked in this matter - without stable, well-paid jobs, especially offered to young people,asthey are oen not insured and do not have savings, it is impossible to afford a basic-needs house without

33 Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, oen displacing current inhabitants in the process.

going into debt. Additionally, policies of the past that disproportionately affected the working class and racial minorities joined by investors' hunger for quick profits strongly contribute to gentrification, which empties entire districts of its inhabitants. The process simply makes the cost of living too high for locals, oen forcing them to live on the streets. Last but not least, the developing climate catastrophe is putting rough sleepers at even greater risk of serious illnesses or death by exposing them to natural disasters, weather anomalies, and temperature deviations the number of whichkeepsincreasingannually.

Youthhomelessness

It is absolutely crucial to account for the youth when discussing the housing crisis. Each solution proposed totackleit,mustkeepinmindthatasignificantpartofhomelessindividualsisyoungerthan 26 years old. In practice it means that they face additional challenges - firstly, young people are not overall financially independent and oen must choose between studying and working. Moreover, queer youth is significantly more prone to becoming homeless,asLGBTQ+individualsare120%more likely to experience temporal homelessness in their lives compared to their straight counterparts. Young people are also just entering the market, meaning that they are significantly more oen employedinlow-wagejobswhichdonotrequireadditionalcompetencies.Goodexamplesofalready taken measures include opening free shelters for LGBTQ+ youth in tens of European cities and investinginyouthemploymentandofferingjobsthatarepossibletokeepwhilestudyingforstudents.

Stigma

It is not controversial to say that the stigma surrounding homelessness and those affected by it is a direct consequence of a ʻhomelessness as a choiceʼ stance, a popularly held opinion in Europe, stating that homelessness is an effect of laziness and unproductivity. It derives from a misunderstanding of the causes and nuances of the housing crisis. In fact, homelessness is a lackof choices - as pointed out earlier, people usually become homeless because of a lack of affordable housing options, prejudice, and unemployment - it is important toemphasisethatendangeringoneʼs life and health by sleeping rough is never a conscious choice, but rather a tragic consequence of being underprivileged. However, many Europeans are stillunawareofthisfact,resultinginpromoting and engaging in theeverydaydiscrimination,violence,andhumiliationhomelessindividualsface.Itis particularly important to the topic, as citizens indifferent to the situation of rough sleepers will not expect their representatives to advocate for the rights of the aforementioned. Significantly, however, numerous European NGOs, such as Polish Serce Miasta34 organise social campaigns aimed to humanisehomelessindividualsintheeyesofthebroaderpublic.

4. Furtherquestions

● Canaccesstopublicservicesandbenefitsbeeaseduponhomelessindividuals,andifso,how?

34 CityʼsHeart(eng.)

● Whichgroupsofpeoplearemostcommonamongstthehomelesspopulation? ● Whatcanbedonetohelpminimise,ifnoteradicate,youthhomelessness? ● HowshouldtheEUapproachtheproblemofhomelessness? ● Whatisthelinkbetweenhealthcareaccessandfoodsafetycrises,andhousingcrisis?

5. Oneforall,allforone

It seems that when it comes to solving homelessness, local-based initiatives are the ones bringing a visiblechange.Finland,theonlyMemberStatewherethelevelofhomelessnessisdecreasing,adopted the Housing First policy in 2007, which assigns homeless individuals with rental homes firstandthen funds their mental health and substance abuse treatment. Since then, hostels have been converted into supported housing units with independent flats for the tenants and several social housing organisations have provided housingfortheprogramme.TheGovernmentProgrammestates:ʻWewill halve homelessness during the governmenttermanderadicatehomelessnesswithintwogovernment termsʼ , in other words, by2027.Furthermore,NoFixedAbodehassetupanightcafeinHelsinki,which operates as temporary housing for approximately 15 people each night with healthcare, food, and showers,wherenoquestionsareasked.

6. Materialforfurtherresearch

EssentialEngagement

- ReadthisreportbytheEuropeanCommissionabouttheEuropeanhousingcrisis. - WatchthisTedTalkbyJuhaKaakinenonwaystowardsendinghomelessness. - CheckoutthisreportbyRobbieStakelumandMiriamMatthiessenaboutYouthHomelessness duringtheCOVID-19pandemic.

AdditionalEngagement

- Watchthisvideoby1NewsaboutFinlandsolvingthehousingcrisis. - CheckoutthisarticlebyEuronewsaboutjobcutscausedbytheCOVID-19pandemic. - ReadthisreportbyFEANTSAonLGBTQIA+YouthHomelessnessinEurope. - ListentothisTedTalkbyProfessorJoRichardsononwhywedonotneedinnovationtoend homelessness.