Category: A Place to Call Home

Vanguard Trip: Santiago de Chile, Montevideo, Uruguay, and São Paulo, Brazil

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We’re so grateful for the chance to travel again and be with our colleagues in person. We were able to spend time in South America during the months of July and August, learning from and working with our Vanguard Program partners. Our key takeaways were: the core issues of homelessness are very similar all around the world, with rising challenges in accessing housing, serving people with complex needs, complications in cross-sector partnerships, and thinking through creating people-centered systems that quickly resolve homelessness with permanent solutions. But another takeaway is that all our partners are passionate, innovative, dedicated, and willing to learn from mistakes and from each other, which gives us continued optimism that we can all rise together to meet the urgent challenge of homelessness.  

Meeting with the National Street Team for the Chilean Ministry of Social Development and Families

In Santiago de Chile, we met with our partners at the National Street Team in the Ministry of Social Development and Families (MDSF). Our first site visit was with Nuestra Casa, which has collective housing as well as a Housing First program. We met with a Housing First resident, Santiago, an artist, who talked about his experience in Nuestra Casa’s HF program as well as showing us his work, carved lanterns.  Next, we had a meeting with the service delivery team of the Barrio Calle program, an intersectoral project to reduce homelessness in two neighborhoods in Santiago through street outreach and integrated services. We heard about their challenges in accessing housing units and serving people with complex needs. IGH also presented at two forums, an NGO forum and a collective of real estate developers and business people, sharing some global examples that they can adapt to drive housing solutions in Chile. And we worked with our partners at CISCAL to continue planning the next International Journal on Homelessness conference which will be held near Santiago in January 2025 (exact dates to come soon!).

Our first meeting in Uruguay was with MIDES Minister Lema, Fernanda Auersperg, Gabriel Cunha and Antonio Manzi

The next stop on our trip was Montevideo, Uruguay. We worked closely with the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) and visited many housing programs for families and individuals, shelters, and specialized housing programs for people living with mental and physical disabilities, substance use, and returning citizens. We were particularly impressed with their central street outreach dispatch and booking program, which ensures that 100% of people who want shelter have it. IGH took part in their biannual point-in-time count, which they use alongside real-time administrative data, to track important data and trends to better inform their approach to homelessness. Most of the homeless services in Uruguay are contracted through the central government, and MIDES has focused in the last year on broadening partnerships with civil society. We visited several organizations benefiting from this new approach including Ceprodih, a workforce development program focused on supporting single mothers (pictured below).  We had the opportunity to talk with many people who have lived experience of homelessness, including people from Colectivo Ni Todo Esta Perdido and Centro Autogestionado Viladevoz, a collective who live together and work together to manage a radio station. Uruguay is IGH’s first Vanguard Country, and we were so thankful for the opportunity to see the diverse range of programs, share mate, and have deeper conversations with our partners talking about new strategies, challenges, and work to collaborate across sectors. 

In São Paulo, Brazil, we were delighted to sign the formal Vanguard City partnership agreement with the city administration including the Mayor of São Paulo, Municipal Secretary of Assistance and Social Development, Municipal Secretary for human rights and citizenship, and the Municipal Secretary for International relations. The agreement was also signed with the Institute for Economic Research Foundation (FIPE).  IGH, FIPE, and the city administration are working together on a new initiative to support youth at risk or experiencing homelessness. We also toured day centers, housing programs, and visited with people with the lived experience of homelessness and service providers, including the Rede Rua program.

The signatories of the São Paulo Vanguard City Agreement

¡Gracias a todos nuestros colegas por un gran viaje!

Glasgow, Scotland Joins the A Place to Call Home Campaign

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Glasgow, Scotland announced on October 9th its position as the seventh official Vanguard City in the Institute of Global Homelessness’s A Place to Call Home campaign. The Glasgow Homeless Network, in close collaboration with the city, is at the head of the effort in Glasgow.

The City of Glasgow has pledged to work toward a specific goal by the year 2020 – ending street homelessness.

“Rough sleeping is the most damaging form of homelessness and an ordeal that no one should have to endure. It is a very exciting opportunity for Glasgow and Scotland to be at the front of this programme going forward,” explained Maggie Brunjes, Chief Executive of the Homeless Network.

Glasgow’s target is to reduce the number of people sleeping rough every week by 75% in the city centre area and reduce rough sleeping by 50% across Glasgow, estimated at just over 500 individuals annually, by the end of 2020.

Dame Louise Casey, IGH Chair and former head of the UK Government’s Rough Sleepers’ Unit, said IGH is impressed by the close collaboration between the public and charity sectors in Glasgow, adding: “We believe this is a combination with the strongest potential to achieve the type of change that can be an inspiration to other world cities facing a deeper and more complex challenge.”

Read more about the announcement and plans in Glasgow here.

City of Rijeka Joins the A Place to Call Home Campaign

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Panoramic view of Rijeka

Rijeka, Croatia announced on June 13th its position as the fifth official Vanguard City in the Institute of Global Homelessness’s A Place to Call Home campaign. The effort in Rijeka is spearheaded by Head of the County Social Policy Department and Youth Dragica Marač and Director of Depaul Croatia and head of Rijeka’s House of Refuge, sister Veronica Mila Popić. Co-operation in this project was signed by Primorsko-goranska County, Rijeka Archdiocese, City of Rijeka, Center for Social Welfare Rijeka, with Depaul Croatia as the key coordinating body.

The City of Rijeka, in partnership with Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the Rijeka Archdiocese, the Center for Social Welfare, Rijeka, and Depaul Croatia, have pledged to work toward a specific goal by the year 2020 – ending street homelessness, reducing street homelessness, or a goal specific to a population of people living on the street.

“By the end of this year, we want to initially establish the number of people living in Rijeka living as homeless people and in which locations they live,” explained Ms. Marač. “We will do this with field assistants, and we will include professional staff in mobile teams. Based on this we will look at the needs for the first emergency acceptance of these people.”

Sister Popić said Rijeka’s participation in the campaign will help the city gather the necessary information, including how many people are experiencing homelessness and where they reside, to effectively address homelessness.

“We think they are living both in Rijeka and in the county, but we do not know exactly how much they are and where they all reside, so the initiative will help gather data that would help,” Sister Popić said.

The first steps to provide emergency accommodation are already underway and accommodation is planned to be provided in smaller facilities. Sister Popić emphasized that the initiative envisages an innovative system that can be applied later in other Croatian cities.

Ms. Marač said that homelessness is a social problem that needs wider recognition and approaches, affecting not only people living in cities, but also, for example, in abandoned facilities in smaller places. She stated that the individuals working in the homelessness service sector, such as social workers and psychologists, will join together to complete field work to gather data throughout the region.

Read more about the announcement and plans in Rijeka here, here, and here.

Vanguard Cities Gather in Chicago

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Last week, representatives from 13 cities gathered in Chicago for the first annual Vanguard Cities Summit, part of IGH’s A Place to Call Home initiative. This select group of vanguard cities will be on the front line of the larger global movement, leading by example and demonstrating what’s possible. Each city will commit to achieving a goal by the end of 2020 that puts them on a path to ending street homelessness by 2030.

Our partners at DePaul University’s Newsline reported on the event:

What can homelessness advocates in Chile teach housing experts in Australia? How can ideas sparked in the streets in South Africa reach policymakers in Canada? While homelessness looks different around the globe, solutions are now being shared and adapted between cities as part of A Place to Call Home, a campaign of the Institute of Global Homelessness at DePaul.

“We are generating the momentum of a global campaign, and bringing these cities together is the drumbeat beneath it all,” says Kat Johnson, director of the institute.

Last week, about 40 international policymakers and advocates gathered at DePaul for the first official meeting of the vanguard cities, a group at the forefront of the institute’s campaign to end street homelessness. These cities will work to set an achievable goal to address street homelessness in their city by 2020 as part of the goal to help 150 cities work toward ending homelessness by 2030.

“Most importantly, they’re going to prove that it’s possible to make significant progress in ending street homelessness,” Johnson says.

Read the full article here.

City of Tshwane Becomes Fourth Vanguard City to Join A Place to Call Home

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Tshwane released the following announcement this morning of their participation as a vanguard city in the Institute of Global Homelessness A Place to Call Home campaign:

The City of Tshwane is joining a global campaign to end street homelessness by 2030. Homelessness is a global challenge, with an estimated 100 million people worldwide living without shelter. The Institute of Global Homelessness at DePaul University, Chicago, is launching a campaign to help 150 cities work toward ending street homelessness by 2030.

The City of Tshwane has now committed itself to be among the first vanguard cities in a global movement to end homelessness.

On the 15th of March 2018 the City of Tshwane is announcing its commitment to join some 10 vanguard cities across all six continents, working with its local partners and the Institute of Global Homelessness toward “A Place to Call Home” for all who are currently living on the streets of our city.

“The City of Tshwane is leading by example and will help other cities around the world to take action to end street homelessness,” said Kat Johnson, director of the Institute of Global Homelessness.

The campaign, A Place to Call Home, will begin with a small group of vanguard cities across all six continents. Each city will commit to achieving a goal by the end of 2020: either an end to street homelessness, a reduction in street homelessness, or a goal specific to a population of people living on the street.

The Institute of Global Homelessness will help these cities as they set goals, strengthen or develop their data collection systems and identify areas of improvement. They will take those findings and share them with other cities, with the ultimate aim of reaching 150 cities who will end street homelessness by 2030. The City of Tshwane, with its key partners, has committed itself to implement a strategy to “advance the social, economic, spatial and political inclusion of street homeless people, thereby ensuring their enhanced and holistic freedoms” (State of the City Address by the Executive Mayor Solly Msimanga, 2016).

In recent years, a social contract was entered into by the City of Tshwane, in partnership with the Tshwane Homelessness Forum, the University of Pretoria and the University of South Africa. This contract gave effect to a collaborative research project, titled Pathways out of Homelessness, and a policy and strategy on street homelessness was prepared for adoption by the City.

“There is an emerging global movement to end homelessness, and A Place to Call Home helps cities and countries to work collaboratively to tackle the problem worldwide,” said Johnson.

Homelessness looks different everywhere, and agreeing on definitions of homelessness had slowed down these types of collaborations in the past, explained Johnson. In 2015, the Institute of Global Homelessness released a framework that defines different types of homelessness so that international collaborators can work from the same definition.

Adelaide, Australia Becomes Second City to Join the A Place to Call Home Initiative

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The Don Dunstan Foundation released the following announcement this morning of their participation as a vanguard city in the Institute of Global Homelessness’s A Place to Call Home campaign:

The Adelaide CBD (Central Business District) will join a select group of Vanguard Cities on six continents to partner with the Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH) in setting ambitious but achievable goals to solve the problem of homelessness as part of the A Place to Call Home initiative.

In announcing Adelaide as one of the Vanguard Cities, Dame Louise Casey says South Australia’s efforts will help shape the global response to street homelessness.

The Adelaide Zero Project was announced by the Don Dunston Foundation in August this year, supported by the State Government, the City of Adelaide, Flinders and Adelaide universities, Bendigo Bank and a host of community organizations.

“Homelessness is a global challenge but it is an eminently solvable problem,” Casey says. “By setting up a network of Vanguard Cities we will strengthen the global efforts to end street homelessness, a problem which can be solved if we disseminate learning and success to motivate local leaders and inspire others to act.”

The vision of A Place to Call Home is that within a generation, we will live in a world where everyone has a place to call home – a home that offers security, safety, autonomy and opportunity. In Adelaide, about 100 people are sleeping rough each night in the CBD.

“It’s a real coup for Adelaide to be named the only Vanguard City in Australia, and to be a leader in an historic effort to end street homelessness worldwide,” Don Dunstan Foundation Executive Director David Pearson says. “As a Vanguard City, we’ll receive significant support from IGH which will help us take the best knowledge from our peers internationally about what works and apply that here in Adelaide.”

Lord Mayor Martin Haese says a city can be judged by how it treats those less fortunate and the City of Adelaide is proud to collaborate with the State Government, private sector, and community partners, to lead the way in achieving Functional Zero homelessness.

Bendigo Bank has proudly joined the Adelaide Zero Project as the Principal Partner. The Bank’s State Manger SA/NT, Joe Formichella says working for the benefit of our customers and the community is an integral part of how we do business.

Edmonton, Canada Joins A Place to Call Home

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Homeward Trust Edmonton released the following announcement this morning of their participation as a vanguard city in the Institute of Global Homelessness’s A Place to Call Home campaign:

Edmonton – Homelessness is a global challenge, with an estimated 100 million people worldwide living without shelter. The Institute of Global Homelessness at DePaul University is launching a campaign to help 150 cities work toward ending street homelessness by 2030.

The campaign, A Place to Call Home, will begin with 10 vanguard cities across six continents. Each city will commit to achieving significant progress towards that goal by the end of 2020. Edmonton is one of those vanguard communities and together, the community has committed that by 2020, no one staying in shelter or sleeping rough will experience chronic homelessness.

“Edmonton is a leader and innovator on many fronts, and has brought this to bear in our efforts to end homelessness” said Mayor Don Iveson. “While the number of people experiencing homelessness in our city has decreased by 43% since 2008, there is still much work to do. Being selected as a vanguard city by the Institute of Global Homelessness is both an honor and an opportunity. We will be contributing to an international effort, and in our commitment to evidence based approaches, we will build local capacity to ensure we meet our goal.”

“Homelessness looks different everywhere, and agreeing on definitions of homelessness had slowed down these types of collaborations in the past,” explained Kat Johnson, Director of the Institute of Global Homelessness. In 2015, the Institute of Global Homelessness released a framework that defines different types of homelessness so that international collaborators can work from the same definition. In recent years, IGH has drawn together policy makers and front-line staff from every continent to kick this work off.

“There is an emerging global movement to end homelessness, and A Place to Call Home helps cities and countries to work collaboratively to tackle the problem world-wide,” said Kat Johnson. “Edmonton is leading by example and will help other cities around the world to take action to end street homelessness.”

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Edmonton’s efforts to end homelessness have realized significant results – more than 6,600 people who were without a home have been housed and supported through the Housing First program. Eighty-five percent of Housing First participants remain housed a year after entering the program. Recently updated, Edmonton’s Updated Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness shows that this ambitious goal is still within reach. Through the Housing First Program, Permanent Supportive Housing, and diversion and prevention efforts, Edmonton is well on its way to achieving this goal.

“We are committed to preventing and ending homelessness in our community and working collectively to do so,” added Susan McGee, CEO of Homeward Trust Edmonton. “Being a vanguard city in this global movement will allow us to share best practices with other cities, and to learn how they are ending street homelessness in their own communities.”