e-module Chapter 6: Homelessness

In section 6.6 of the textbook two policies to reduce homelessness are discussed: The Staircase Model and the Housing First Model. The Staircase is based on a gradual approach, in which homeless service users demonstrate their ability to move from one level of accommodation to another, either as part of the rehabilitation process or by acting in accordance with the targets that have been jointly laid down. The end goal is independent living. Housing First is a housing model based on the principle that the first support measure for the homeless should be the unconditional provision of housing. Housing is not the goal or end point, rather, it is the first step on the way back to society.

To deepen your knowledge about homelessness and elaborate an informed opinion, examine the  sources that are referred to in the text below and and take notes on the questions provided.

1) Discuss the two different models by talking a stand for the two following perspectives:

• Suppose you are a proponent of the Staircase Model. How would you defend the continuation of the use of this model?
• Suppose you are a proponent of the Housing First Model. What arguments would you use to advocate the application of this model?

O’Shaughnessy et al. (2021). Home as a base for a well-lived life: Comparing the capabilities of homeless service users in housing first and the staircase of transition in Europe. Housing, Theory and Society, 38(3), 343-364.)

2) Watch the following critical reportage of Housing First:

Question: Do you think the critique is convincing? Why (not)?

3) Read the Case Study. Housing First in Finland. Discuss whether the Finnish policy is transferable to your own country or to a country that is even more dissimilar from Finland. 

Relevant dissimilarities with Finland might be:

• Climate (sleeping rough is less of an option in Finland than in southern countries)
• Availability of affordable rental dwellings
• Social welfare programs
• Homelessness problem (relatively small in Finland).
• Trust in government (relatively high in Finland)

4) Reflect on strategies to end homelessness.

FEANTSA is the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless. FEANTSA believes that it is realistic to end homelessness and proposes five goals that strategies to end homelessness must work towards achieving:

• No one sleeping rough;
• No one living in emergency accommodation for longer than is an ‘emergency’;
• No one living in transitional accommodation longer than is required for successful move-on;
• No one leaving an institution without housing options;
• No young people becoming homeless as a result of the transition to independent living.

Browse through “Ending Homelessness: A Handbook for Policy Makers”. Answer the following two questions:

• If you were forced to make a choice, which goal deserves most priority and which goal the least priority? Clarify you answer.
• Which of these goals is easiest to achieve in your country and which one is the most difficult to achieve (you could refer to economic as well as political obstacles in your answer)?