The European Union is committed to ending homelessness by 2030. It will come down to political will.
According to estimates by the Fondation Abbé Pierre and FEANTSA, the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless, some 895,000 people face homelessness every night in the European Union—a 70 per cent increase in ten years. Not only is this number shockingly high. Ever-more vulnerable individuals—whether they be elderly, disabled, women, whole families, even children—are facing the associated severe poverty and social exclusion, as well as a much higher than average risk of violence, health hazards and even premature death.
In one of the richest regions of the world, homelessness has become a mass phenomenon, amounting to a humanitarian crisis. After numerous pleas for action by the European Parliament and other stakeholders, with the adoption in 2021 of the Lisbon Declaration the European Union not only pledged finally to end homelessness by 2030 but also launched the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness (EPOCH) as the main vehicle to reach this goal.
Multidimensional, multifaceted
Homelessness is a multidimensional and heterogeneous social phenomenon which comes in very different forms: from sleeping rough with no shelter to sleeping on someone else’s couch or living in a car, tent or garage. It includes situations where individuals are accommodated temporarily in institutions without rental contracts or live insecurely due to precarious tenancies, eviction or domestic violence. As people living on the street represent only the tip of the iceberg, most homelessness remains hidden, which makes it difficult adequately to capture statistically.
Moreover, the causes of homelessness and its individual health, psychological and social side-effects are multifaceted. It thus cuts across departmental silos—social affairs, housing, health, youth, migration, policing and justice—while implicating a variety of local agencies and welfare organisations. With member states’ different welfare models, homelessness is tackled very differently across the EU, in terms of the instruments and the financial commitment. Two countries, Finland and Denmark, have been able to reduce homelessness but some member states are only beginning to install basic services.
Against the backdrop of this highly complex challenge and the variegated starting points in the member states, EPOCH promises to be an adequate instrument to tackle homelessness, for various reasons. It brings together experts, civil-society representatives, officials and political decision-makers, from various backgrounds and at all levels of governance. This is key because homelessness cannot be tackled without a joint effort and a strong political agenda to sustain the momentum.
Three streams of work
The platform has a work programme, consisting of three streams, and a dedicated budget. The first stream is about addressing systematically how best to monitor and measure homelessness. This is crucial, not only to ensure member states have a common discourse and point of departure but also to prevent politicians from marginalising the human realities. Once these are on the table as ‘facts’, it becomes harder for governments to do nothing or maintain non-functioning policies.
The second stream encourages and enables mutual learning, in an area often characterised by inadequate and ineffective policies. Knowledge about other, more successful practices and evidence-based blueprints from other member states can motivate policy-makers to change course or mobilise new funds in the political arena which might previously have seemed unattainable.
Most member states, for instance, rely on homeless shelters which fail to meet basic standards to maintain human dignity. They are often on the outskirts of the city or in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods, with limited opening hours and inadequate sanitary standards. Rooms have to be shared (often with strangers), which inhibits privacy and the ability to rest and regenerate, while making already vulnerable individuals anxious to the point where shelters are avoided. In crowded shelters, (fear of) theft and (sexual) violence is widespread, not least because of the lack of qualified staff. While they may protect from the elements, they are ineffective and perhaps even counterproductive in ensuring sanctuary and favouring a self-determined return to housing.
The third stream highlights and supports access to EU funds, such as the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and InvestEU. With the help of EPOCH, member states, regions and municipalities can potentially find the necessary resources to break new ground and initiate model projects to address homelessness more effectively.
Political will
EPOCH has the potential to become a successful instrument for tackling the homelessness crisis in the EU: it has a solid political mandate, a clear objective, a work programme, lots of expertise to draw on and a budget—taken together, the key ingredients to deliver results. It depends, however, on strong, sustained political will at all levels of governance, from European and national politicians to the European Commission to regional and local authorities. Without concerted action and the will to act, policies will not change and the goal to end homelessness by 2030 will not be reached. EPOCH can only show the way—politicians need to walk the walk.
The coming European elections are a critical litmus test. The newly elected parliament and the new commission will not only have to stay on the path taken in 2021. Together with national governments, regions and municipalities, they will also have to make significant progress in reversing the worrying rise in homelessness in most member states. The next five-year term represents the crucial period to push the graph down towards zero.
To explore this topic further, read Social policy in the European Union: state of play 2023 from our partner the European Trade Union Institute
Timo Weishaupt is professor of sociology at the University of Göttingen. His interests include qualitative research on social and housing policy, homelessness and the welfare state.
Christian Hinrichs is research assistant to Timo Weishaupt in the Institute of Sociology at the University of Göttingen.