00:00 [Music]
00:20 The voices there are of two people who were once chronically homeless.
00:24 They, like hundreds of thousands of people, know what it's like to live on Europe's streets,
00:28 a problem that shows no signs of easing due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
00:33 So in this episode we're asking whether we should be adopting a more radical approach
00:37 when it comes to tackling homelessness. Rather than make housing the ultimate reward,
00:42 should we instead be simply getting people off the streets and giving them a home
00:46 as soon as they need one? Welcome to Real Economy.
00:54 It's estimated nearly 900,000 people sleep rough across the EU on any given night.
01:00 That number is comparable to the population of a city like Marseille or Turin.
01:05 But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many more hidden homeless are thought to live in
01:11 temporary accommodation. In a moment we'll see how an innovative approach here in Madrid is
01:16 helping homeless people transform their lives. But before all that, here's our crash course.
01:22 More and more people in Europe have nowhere safe to call home. Evidence suggests homelessness
01:28 across the EU as a whole has more than doubled since 2009, with only Denmark and Finland making
01:34 progress. Its most visible form is rough sleeping, but the profile of Europe's homeless is evolving.
01:40 In addition to those affected by economic hardship or physical and mental health issues,
01:45 women escaping domestic violence and the need for a home are also being affected.
01:50 Domestic violence and young people with no proper access to housing, so-called couch surfers,
01:56 also make up the numbers. The lack of affordable and good quality housing plays a major part in
02:02 all of this. In 2022, almost one in ten people in the EU spent more than 40% of their income
02:09 on accommodation. Despite being enshrined in the European pillar of social rights as a fundamental
02:15 human right, many people still struggle to put a roof over their heads. According to national data,
02:23 homelessness in Spain has increased by 25% over the last decade. Such statistics have prompted
02:30 a rethink on how to tackle this extreme form of social exclusion. The solution proposed is
02:36 surprisingly simple - give every person living on the street a home. After his marriage fell apart,
02:43 Carlos lived rough for several years.
02:45 Today, he owns his own flat on the outskirts of Madrid, thanks to that very same approach,
02:59 known as Housing First.
03:00 [Music]
03:02 Unlike traditional approaches, Housing First doesn't require someone to meet certain criteria,
03:30 such as sobering up or getting off drugs, before receiving housing assistance.
03:34 The idea is that they are more likely to get their lives back on track if they have a home.
03:39 Housing is therefore seen as a right and not as a reward.
03:45 [Music]
03:47 Like Carlos, Rita lived on the street and in shelters for several years.
04:06 But four and a half years ago, her life was transformed after she got her own flat.
04:10 [Music]
04:12 Rita and Carlos' rent is ultimately paid for by the local authority.
04:31 Despite that public cost, those pushing for Housing First to be scaled up across Europe
04:37 insist the model is often more cost-effective over the long term than the shelter-based system.
04:42 Housing First is a model that has been proven successful already across Europe
04:48 in many pilot projects, but it's not even near the tipping point. Housing First holds the potential
04:54 to make a paradigm shift from managing homelessness to actually ending it.
05:00 Two non-profit organisations, Provvivienda and Hogar C, co-manage several Housing First
05:06 initiatives in Spain, including the one in Madrid. The project, which to date enjoys 100%
05:11 occupancy and retention rate, was financed by Madrid's municipality through the European Social Fund.
05:18 [Spanish]
05:20 All EU countries have committed to spend at least 25% of their ESF+ resources on tackling social
05:44 inclusion and at least 3% on addressing material deprivation. The European platform on combating
05:50 homelessness also seeks to bring about change. But faced with housing markets that don't produce
05:56 enough affordable homes, a cost of living crisis and increased migration flows, what can the EU
06:02 really do? I put that question to the platform's co-chair, former Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme.
06:10 The challenge has to be addressed at the local level, municipal level. But I think when Europe
06:15 wants to have also a social dimension, we should include issues like this one. We want to agree on
06:20 how do we monitor developments to be able to address the issue in a very good way. We want to
06:25 have an exchange, a platform of exchange of best practices and mutual learning at European level.
06:31 And last but not least, at a moment where Europe is putting hundreds of billions of euros on the
06:36 table to re-boost the economy, we think that a tiny little bit of that money should also be used
06:41 to address this extreme exclusion to make our societies more inclusive. But can Europe at a
06:49 more broader level create change? I think so. By bringing together member states and agreeing on
06:57 what kind of policy tools do we need to use based on experiences, because some member states have
07:02 been very successful in addressing the issue actually and others are lagging behind. So
07:06 bringing together the member states around this good practices, best practices and experiences
07:12 to address that issue. And finally, do you sense that there's the political will to tackle this
07:18 issue head on? Indeed, I think in this there is a kind of momentum that has been also created by
07:24 the European Commission. Lots of things are done in a very diverse way at the local, municipal,
07:30 provincial, regional, national level. But let's now join forces and let's really make this
07:36 something of the past. We are far away from that ideal situation, but we are making progress and
07:41 I'm sure that we can make a difference in the midterm. Mr. Le Temps, thank you. Thank you very
07:46 much. Progress in the current economic context won't be easy, but evidence shows with the right
07:55 policies it is possible.
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