FEANTSA

🚨 'We have about 1 million homeless people in Europe. This is totally unacceptable. We need to do more' – 💬 Dan Jørgensen FEANTSA has collected key quotes from Dan Jørgensen's confirmation hearing, highlighting important points on #homelessness, affordable housing, and energy poverty. Our main takeaways from the hearing: 🔵 Ending homelessness is a priority 🔵 How the EU defines affordable housing will be critical 🔵 The jury is out on how 'social' the affordable housing plan will be FEANTSA welcomes this clear commitment to tackling homelessness and housing exclusion — and we’re ready to help make it happen! A big thank you to Aodhán Ó Riordáin, Gabriele Bischoff, and Benedetta Scuderi for ensuring these crucial issues were brought to the table.

✨ Exciting update! The FEANTSA Forum 2025 officially has a place and date... 🥁 📍 Athens, 13 & 14 May Registrations will open in February. Keep an eye on this page for more updates: https://lnkd.in/dMYbDwXH

📢 Homeless, not guilty! Across Europe, an estimated 1.2 million people are homeless. In the absence of sufficient social welfare and affordable housing, those experiencing #homelessness must resort to public spaces to meet their most basic needs. They face overcrowded, poor-quality shelter systems, seek informal solutions like occupying vacant buildings, and often survive through begging for food or shelter. ❗Rather than being met with solutions, homeless individuals are increasingly treated as a “nuisance” in public discourse and policy. In several European countries, local laws and practices categorise survival behaviours—such as sleeping on the street, begging, or creating informal living spaces—as offences. Police interventions are becoming more frequent, marking a troubling trend: the #criminalisation of homelessness, part of a broader pattern of penalising poverty. To address this alarming situation, together with Fondation Abbé Pierre and Avocats Sans Frontières - ASF, we conducted a survey across Belgium, Denmark, France, and Hungary. By engaging with frontline actors, we documented the mechanisms, consequences, and scope of this issue, shedding light on how the criminalisation of homelessness impacts individuals and society. 🖇️ Access the Policy Brief here: https://lnkd.in/dNAkahEM Through this Policy Brief, we aim to raise awareness and propose concrete recommendations to end laws and practices that penalise homelessness and poverty. Criminalising homelessness is an unacceptable societal choice—one that exacerbates hardship for individuals and weakens the fabric of our communities. ✍🏽 Coordinated by: María José Aldanas I Sarah Coupechoux I Noria Derdek I Justine Dofal I Cécile Swysen

Today the European Parliament created a special committee on the #housing crisis. Was supported by large cross-party majority. The mandate ( 👇 ) includes analysis and improvement of national and EU funding opportunities to tackle #homelessness. The 33 members of the committee will be announced during the January plenary session of the EP. Here is the link to the decision https://lnkd.in/dqtuA8TS

The end of the year is approaching! And this is a great time to reflect on the year’s achievements and thank you for your support during this first year of implementation. ➡️ Thank you to the Member States delegates, especially Henrique Joaquim for the warm welcome in Lisbon. 🇵🇹 ➡️ Thank you to the 12 speakers who brought our webinars to life this year, including Dennis Culhane, Rory Weal, Louise Bayliss, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, María José Aldanas, Mikko Aaltonen, Juha Kaakinen, Ojankoski Teija. ➡️ Thank you to Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen e.V. Berlin Housing First for Women Berlin for the high-quality training and to MEP ALESSANDRA MORETTI for hosting us at the European Parliament. ➡️ A special thanks to the Experts by Experience and the Expert Committee, for working alongside us. ➡️ And finally, to the European Commission and the Platform members for their invaluable support and collaboration. ❕ Swipe the document below for more details. 👀 See you next year! #homelessness #EPOCH FEANTSA

Did you miss the latest Housing Solutions Platform debate ❓ Don't worry! The video for 'Dos and don'ts of modular housing' is now online 📺 Check it out: https://lnkd.in/e4pUsece

We're hiring ❗ Join FEANTSA as our new membership engagement officer. Lead on membership engagement in a vibrant, growing European network dedicated to ending #homelessness in Europe. In this role, you will: 🔹 Develop and implement FEANTSA's internal communications strategy, including members' newsletter, members' enquiries, members' only section of FEANTSA website 🔹 Coordinate the agenda of FEANTSA Administrative Council meetings - Coordinate the programme of the FEANTSA Forum, our annual flagship conference 🔹 Manage membership data 🔹 Maintain relationships with existing members 🔹 Recruit and onboard new members, in close collaboration with existing members 🔹 Support members to develop and implement European projects Interested? 📝 Learn more & apply by 13 January: https://lnkd.in/d2YM8C7J

New FEANTSA response 🚨 Last month the Council of the European Union released their Conclusions on fostering the lasting legacy of major sporting events 🏆The document attempts to offer a balanced analysis of how to ensure a long-term positive impact of major sporting events, considering the importance of a sustainable and socially and locally integrated approach. The Conclusions, unfortunately, fail to provide a substantial reflection on the significant impact of such events on homelessness and housing, despite the recent and historical mistreatment of people experiencing homelessness in the name of major sporting events. Read the response🔗https://bit.ly/49IiXQo

🏠 Homelessness is one of the most complex and persistent social challenges of our time. As of 2024, over 2 million people in OECD and EU countries experience homelessness each year – but solutions are within reach. We are proud to launch the OECD Toolkit to Combat Homelessness: a comprehensive resource designed to help governments and stakeholders build integrated, people-centred, and housing-led strategies to end homelessness. 📚 What’s inside the Toolkit? ➡️ 9 Building Blocks: From policy design to delivery, covering prevention, Housing First, funding, and monitoring. ➡️ Evidence & Good Practices: Real-world examples and solutions tailored to diverse contexts. ➡️ Actionable Guidance: Tools for policymakers, NGOs, housing providers, and other stakeholders. 💡 Whether you are designing a national homelessness strategy, introducing prevention programmes, scaling up Housing First initiatives, or addressing the hidden dimensions of homelessness, this Toolkit offers practical insights to help you take action. 📊 Data-driven. 🎯 Prevention-focused. 💡 Solution-oriented. ➡️ Explore the Toolkit and contribute to working towards ending homelessness by 2030: https://oe.cd/5QI #EndHomelessness #OECDToolkit #SocialPolicy #HousingFirst Stefano Scarpetta, Mark Pearson, Monika Queisser-Richaud, Willem Adema, Marissa (Ellis) Plouin, Ali Bargu, Alexandre Lloyd, Pablo Minondo Canto, Szymon Jezewski, Santiago Mendia Oliver, Yves Leterme, Stefan Olsson, Katarina Ivanković Knežević, Lucie Davoine, Michele Calandrino, Aristotelis Alvanos, DIHAL | Délégation interministérielle à l'hébergement et à l'accès au logement, Laure Billoret, Sophie Bandarkar Freek Spinnewijn, Ruth Owen, Koen Hermans, Nicholas Pleace, Dr Julie Lawson, Juha Kahila, Solène Molard, Julia Wygnańska, Sam Tsemberis, PhD Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Housing First Europe Hub, Housing Europe, Eurocities, URBACT, UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme), Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH) , National Alliance to End Homelessness, EAPN - European Anti Poverty Network, Homelessness Policy Research Institute, Crisis, Centre for Homelessness Impact

Thank you, Executive Vice-President Roxana Minzatu to meet me so early in your mandate. Your commitment to advance the fight against #homelessness is impressive and timely. Together we can make visible progress, and help to curb the trend of rising homelessness in EU. You can count on the full support of FEANTSA.