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"First steps towards the
setting up of a Housing First
project in Brussels »
Lucie Martin &
Sébastien Alexandre
SMES-B
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Plan
Historic overview and partners
 Objectives & Methodology
 Brussels and Homelessness
 Towards a micro experimental project
 Conclusions
 Follow up : applications
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European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Brussels & Homelessness
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Context: paradox: rich city and high level of poverty (growing
inequalities, unemployment, housing crisis, increasing
homelessness)
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Homeless Sector:
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Real mosaic, fragmented and diverse, institutional complexity
Cross-cutting (criteria = « lack of housing »)
Crossed by different philosophies of social work
Politicized & surprisingly neglected by politics?
Mainly organized according to the « scale approach »
General idea: « not ready for housing », « care first »
However: internal and external criticism (various reports denounce
paradoxes and necessity to change the orientation of actions)
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European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Brussels: Growing interest vs.
generalized unawareness
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No national plan to tackle homelessness, contrary to a national plan
to combat poverty
No “housing first programme”
Very small-scale but actual projects working on access from the street
to permanent housing (often understood as housing first) (less than
10 % of the budget)
BUT
Critics on scale approaches
Growing use of and interest in the concept BUT political & associative
unawareness and misinterpretation
Examples: comments on reports, wrong use, « dignity first »
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Action & Research?
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Historic review of the project:
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- From 8 studios of a social housing company
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- Interest for housing first model and knowledge
- Towards a short exploratory action research
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Partners : active in housing and homelessness sectors
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Foyer Schaerbeekois
SMES-B (Cellule d’appui)
Fami-Hôme
SASLS
Diogènes
Puerto
Les Petits Riens
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European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Objectives
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Understanding and sharing the concept of housing first
(philosophy, ambitions, fundamental principles)
Evaluate the relevance of a housing oriented policy in
Brussels to tackle homelessness
Identify existing resources
Evaluate the feasibility and design its realisation
Identify key questions, points of consensus and
dissensus, raise scenarios, suggest perspectives
Towards the setting up of a micro experimental project or
more…
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Towards a micro experimantal
project?
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Objectives:
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Make field experience emerge (on public care, housing
support etc.)
Discuss ambitions, shared precepts on the creation of a
housing first project
Discuss possible applications and technical matters
(resources and philosophy etc.)
Identify points of dissensus and consensus
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European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Methodology
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4 phases:
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Exploratory meeting with partners
Collective meeting and work on proposals
Writing
Concrete follow-up of the « research »
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Bottom-up approach : discuss Brussels reality and share
expertise, state of affairs, issues at stake
Action oriented approach: for a follow-up of the work
Very limited time: part-time for 2 months
Local and concrete perspective
From field to literature & vice versa
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Expertise – experience returns
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Housing : a necessary condition, not a solution
From street to home : flexible, continuous support, always
re-negociated
Support does not stop once housed
Loneliness: a cause of return to street
Importance of environment
Networking and activation of existing resources
Clarity and transparency of stakeholders and rules
Framing and supervision of workers
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Action research? Identifying
controversies
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Level of action:
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Regional context for global change or
a micro experimental project from existing resources?
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Fundamental questions:
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Public concerned: General or specialized?
Type of support: ACT or ICM?
Teams involved: multidisciplinary or monodisciplinary?
What selection?
What conditions?
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European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Conclusions of the research
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Change of paradigm needed
Micro experimental project as a way to promote and test
new model
Necessity to carry on reflection at regional level
Need for more research
Integration & adequation to Brussels specificity :
articulation with existing resources
Learning from abroad
Nothing without prevention: on consistency of the whole.
Consideration on evaluation
European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Follow-up through 3 projects
Micro-project of Housing First in Brussels
 Setting-up of a debate on the Housing First
in Brussels
 Updating of the National Plan against
Poverty >>> implementation of the Housing
First in 5 cities
 Federal research aiming to evaluate its
implementation.
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European Research Conference
Access to Housing for Homeless People in Europe
York, 21st September 2012
Microproject of Housing First
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Very micro: only 6 appartments.
However, the first step to win others over!
Various partners (social housing, social care, mental
health, medical care, addiction, etc.)
Working in network, around two full-time psychosocial
professionals hired by the project.
>>> ICM.
Project defined in August.
Funding: in preparation
Setting-up: January 2013???
Conference
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In 2013
Partners coming from the homelessness and
poverty sector but also more broadly from the
health and social fields
Aiming to encourage the partners to debate on
the housing access
One of the subjects will be the Housing First
Outcome: broader sharing of what is the
Housing First, how accurate it is to the situation
in Brussels, and how it can be implemented.
National Plan Poverty: update
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Previous National Plan: 2008
Update in 2012 with opportunity for the
field to make proposals
Our proposal has been accepted: 5
Housing First in 5 cities + Federal
Research on its implementation.
Follow-up through work on the
implementation in Brussels + on the
Federal Research.
Conclusions
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The research has been an oppurtunity to investigate the
question of the Housing First in Brussels with several
partners
The follow-up has been more concrete, through the settingup of a pilot project.
In order to reinforce this project, we seized the opportunity
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to evaluate and comparen with federal partners
 to make this project known and to discuss it with the broader fields
that could be involved.
However, surprise can always appear...
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