New campaign will push EU policymakers to do more to put an end to homelessness
Homelessness grabs a lot of headlines in Portland, but it’s without question a global issue. The United States homeless figure continues to hover at more than a half a million people in recent years. Meanwhile, countries across Europe are seeing a disturbing trend.
According to a new report from EU housing organization Feansta, European countries are facing a homelessness and housing exclusion “crisis.”
Launched in the European Parliament in Brussels in late March, the Second Overview of Housing Exclusion in Europe reveals alarming trends in homelessness in the majority of European Union countries.
“Homelessness is increasing in almost all countries,” said Feantsa director Freek Spinnewijn. “Relative poverty is going down in Europe, but extreme poverty – and, notably, homelessness – is going up, and going up very fast. This is an emergency, and action is needed.”
Feansta’s report, created in conjunction with French housing charity Fondation Abbé Pierre, brings together a series of studies that paint a troubling picture of housing exclusion.
Germany has seen a 35 percent increase in homeless people in two years. In Austria the number of people registered as homeless has gone up by 28 percent in six years.
In the U.K., 7 percent more people were sleeping rough in London between 2015 and 2016. Spain has seen an increase in homelessness of 5 percent in seven years, while Italy has seen an increase of 6 percent in six years.
In response, Feantsa has launched a new campaign, “Be Fair, Europe – Stand Up for Homeless People,” to push EU policymakers to do more to put an end to homelessness, including using European funds on homelessness-reduction programs. The International Network of Street Papers, of which Street Roots is a member, is a media partner on the campaign.
“We want the European Union to stand up for the rights of homeless people,” Spinnewijn said. “Homelessness is not currently looked at as a fundamental rights violation. I think there is room for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights to start doing that.”
Courtesy of INSP.ngo
