Eradicating Poverty Means Ending Homelessness
This month, practitioners, advocates, government stakeholders, and academics from all over the world convened for the 64th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development (CSocD64). The priority theme was ‘Advancing Social Development and Social Justice through Coordinated, Equitable, and Inclusive Policies’. There was also a focus on ‘Eradicating Poverty and Ensuring Dignity through Resilient Care and Support Systems’, as an emerging issue. Although homelessness was not explicitly included in this year’s theme, preventing and ending homelessness is critical to ending poverty.
Homelessness meaningfully intersects with all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG #1 — End poverty in all its forms everywhere. SDG #1 targets and indicators include factors that correlate directly with homelessness, specifically equal rights to economic resources; ownership and control over land and property; resilience of people in vulnerable situations; and exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters. Poverty is a root cause of homelessness — with street homelessness being the most extreme, visible manifestation of poverty.
Dialogue About Global Homelessness at CSocD64
Among the events that discussed homelessness were CSocD64 parallel event titled Upholding Human Dignity: Addressing Homelessness through Inclusive Social Protection. The event was co-hosted by NGO Working Group to End Homelessness (WGEH), the International Presentation Association, and the Permanent Mission of Ireland. H.E. Ambassador Dónal Cronin — Deputy Permanent Representative for the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN reiterated how homelessness intersects with many other systemic issues including poverty (SDG #1), inequalities (SDG #5), and climate change (SDG #11), as well as how specific populations, including women and girls, are most affected by homelessness and thus, need for tailored support. Maryann Broxton — Main Representative to the United Nations for ATD Fourth World, gave a powerful presentation about centering the invaluable experiences and expertise of people who have experienced homelessness and decriminalization and destigmatization of homelessness — emphasizing that homelessness is a result of system failures and not individual choices. Find WGEH’s CSocD64 Written Statement here: https://docs.un.org/en/E/CN.5/2026/NGO/20.
The Civil Society Forum (CSF) included two panel discussions — “Advancing Inclusive Pathways to Poverty Reduction” and Decent Work as a Foundation for Social Inclusion” — and was a successful, well-attended event. In addition to civil society, the panels included representatives from Djibouti, Nepal, Portugal, South Africa and Ukraine in addition to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. MaryAnn Dantuono, a member of the Working Group to End Homelessness moderated the first panel discussion and there was an intervention from Michelle Loisel, another Working Group member, who noted that homelessness is not “an individual failure, but…the result of a combination of social, economic, and structural factors such as lack of affordable housing, unemployment, forced migration, family breakdown, conflict and violence, and insufficient social protection.
Toward the United Nations Post-2030 Agenda
We reflect on the collaborative work of the African group of nations at the United Nations (UN) and the NGO Working Group to End Homelessness that led to the 58th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD58) priority theme, “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness” — the first CSocD session with a theme that explicitly addressed the issue of homelessness. We will continue to work strategically alongside our partners at the NGO Working Group to End Homelessness, UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme), and other practitioners, academics, government stakeholders, colleague and friends — especially those whose advocacy is informed by their invaluable lived experience/expertise of homelessness; to advocate for improved standardized homelessness data collection and reporting among countries and for the issue of homelessness to be included the UN post-2030 agenda. Homelessness is mentioned in the UN Resolution: Advancing social development and social justice through coordinated, equitable and inclusive social policies.
“Invites Member States to further invest in services for families, social service centres and transportation, to benefit families and prevent family homelessness and address its causes, including poverty, domestic violence and the lack of affordable housing, and to build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination..”
The priority theme for the 65th Session of the Commission for Social Development to be held in February 2027 is Strengthening social development through intergenerational approaches for achieving sustainable development and the implementation of the Copenhagen and Doha commitments towards 2030 and beyond. The Doha Political Declaration of the World Social Summit explicitly mentions homelessness, including the following call-to-action to Member State countries: “taking urgent national and international action to address homelessness as an obstacle to the enjoyment of human rights and the attainment of social development; ensuring that housing policies address the needs of people experiencing homelessness; and reinforcing resilient and sustainable urbanization by implementing strategies to bridge the gaps between urban, rural and remote areas, enhance connectivity and access to electricity and address homelessness”.
Countries have proven that homelessness is preventable and solvable. It is an urgent issue that directly intersects with many other sectors and systems, including healthcare, the carceral and social justice system, environmental sustainability, and more. We urge Member States to strengthen efforts to collect and report national data on homelessness. This is critical to increase political will; inform strategies, permanent, supportive services and policies; and ensure homelessness is prioritized in the post-2030 UN agenda.