Tackling homelessness in Europe: a more 'radical' approach
www.euronews.com
In this episode of Real Economy, Euronews Reporter Paul Hackett discovers how providing the homeless with housing as a starting point rather than an end goal, is transforming lives and fast becoming a long-term solution. #Realeconomy

First developed in the US, the initiative known as Housing First, is being adopted increasingly in Europe. Unlike traditional approaches, it doesn’t require individuals to meet certain criteria before receiving housing assistance. The idea is that homeless individuals have a higher chance of creating a brighter future for themselves if they first have a roof over their heads.

Carlos Martínez Carrasco lived rough for several years before a Housing First initiative provided him with a flat on the outskirts of Madrid.

He told Real Economy that the flat has changed his life in every way: “I no longer lack the things that you do when you’re on the street and I can cook. I don’t have to find a way to wash clothes… I can go out with the peace of mind that I have a place to come back to. I am very happy today.”

  • IninewCrow@lemmy.caEnglish
    534·
    9 months ago

    Society always pay for the homeless, regardless if the homeless are given homes or not.

    Don’t give them homes … society gets to pay for more policing, more security, more judicial, more emergency health, more social problems.

    Give them homes … No it doesn’t create a Utopia but with the money saved in less policing, less security, less judicial, less emergency health, the savings are used to pay for a home.

    So go ahead be a right winger or a left winger, no matter how you cut it, we all pay for the homeless no matter what we do. It’s just that one solution is compassionate and one is not.

    If you want to argue the Christian way, than …

    ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

    • Matthew 25:40
    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      191·
      9 months ago

      I’m a leftist because I’m a fiscal conservative. It doesn’t take compassion (which is just as well, because frankly I’m not all that compassionate); it just takes not being so vindictive that you want to pay extra to persecute the poor to keep them down on purpose.

      • taladar@feddit.deEnglish
        22·
        9 months ago

        You can apply the same view to e.g. healthcare. It is a lot cheaper to pay for preventative healthcare for everyone than to deal with health issues once they get to the point where they become unbearable.

        • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
          17·
          9 months ago

          You can apply it to a whole bunch of “socialist” ideas, up to and including UBI.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.worldEnglish
      61·
      9 months ago

      It doesn’t create a utopia and many will treat the houses poorly. But they’ll live indoors and you’ll never have to ask if you might wind up homeless if everything goes wrong.

      On a selfish level I support social programs as a form of poverty insurance.