In response to the calls of the Heads of state and government at the European Council of Lisbon in 2000, an EU strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion was launched. This strategy is not legally binding in any way for the EU27 countries, but provides a clear framework for countries to exchange information on successful policies and practices tackling different forms of poverty such as homelessness, child poverty, poverty of ethnic minorities, poverty of people with disabilities, and others. In 2007, EU countries decided to use the full potential of this EU strategy by focusing these exchanges on specific societal problems and bringing together representatives of all 27 EU countries around these. The focus in 2007 is on child poverty. FEANTSA therefore wishes to bring a homelessness perspective to the child poverty debates. The general public tends to associate homelessness with men, rather than with women and children. But recent research and data shows that many women and children in Europe are increasingly finding themselves in situations of homelessness (Meert et al, 2005). These people are not necessarily chronically homeless but rather can end up on the streets for short periods at a time. The aim of this report is to improve our general understanding of child homelessness in Europe and to what extent this is a genuine challenge for EU governments. The report starts with a stocktaking exercise of definitions and perceptions of the problem (Chapter 2) and general trends (Chapter 3) in different European countries to better understand WHO this problem concerns. Chapter 2 clarifies the notions of “homelessness” and “children”. In order to reconcile the different national approaches to child homelessness, the proposed ETHOS continuum of living situations is applied in this report to shed light on homelessness as experienced by children (individuals under 18 years of age). Chapter 3 highlights two emerging trends concerning children in homeless families and unaccompanied adolescents experiencing homelessness. Country examples are used to illustrate these trends confirming the diversity of profiles of children experiencing homelessness. This is then followed by an analysis of WHY this phenomenon exists, namely the reasons for such forms of homelessness (Chapter 4) and the needs of children in these living situations (Chapter 5). Chapter 4 finds some commonality in the many different reasons for child homelessness across Europe, attempting to highlight some of the general pathways into homelessness experienced by children, although acknowledging that different factors (structural, institutional, relational, personal) are interlinked. Chapter 5 looks at the combination of different needs of children experiencing homelessness (housing, social, health, financial, education) which, if unmet, can make it extremely difficult to break the cycle of homelessness. The report proceeds to examine HOW this phenomenon is tackled by identifying policies and services of general prevention through strong welfare policies, and more targeted policies and services aiming to support children experiencing homelessness or children and families at risk. A distinction can be made between primary (or systemic) prevention of child homelessness through general policies aiming to improve institutions/systems/communities which could potentially trigger child homelessness (examined in Chapter 6), and secondary (more targeted) prevention policies specifically targeting homeless children and children at risk with specific needs (considered in Chapter 7). Chapter 8 then draws conclusions from this analysis and formulates some recommendations for the future. Child homelessness is only just slowly emerging as a problem in Europe, but will most likely increase if measures are not rapidly taken to counter this phenomenon. The longer EU governments wait, the harder it will be to prevent child homelessness becoming a European reality in Europe, in contradiction with declarations on European values and the importance of the European social model. Some general recommendations are formulated for both national and EU level action.
Report