Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (HHA) is approaching! A series of educational, service, fundraising, and advocacy events, raising awareness of homelessness, will be held across the U.S. beginning Saturday, November 11 and ending Sunday, November 19. Each year, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness sponsor HHA Week. This year, over 700 organizations, churches, schools, and other groups, as well as individuals, will participate in the series of events. You can participate by attending or volunteering at an event, registering and hosting your own event, sharing knowledge about homelessness. Follow along on Twitter with #hhweek.
Find more information here.
Eradicating ‘Core Homelessness’ in Scotland’s Largest Cities
A recent study conducted by Heriot-Watt University (HWU) provides an overview of the state of homelessness in Scotland, including current policies and best practices, and a framework for the disbursement of funding that will be allocated across relevant organizations working toward ending homelessness in Scotland’s four largest cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. “The study demonstrates that these more extreme forms of homelessness are still a substantial problem in our main urban centres, but also that it is possible for collaborative efforts to seriously drive down this persistent and distressing social problem,” said Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick of the university’s Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research. Fitzpatrick also added that the aim of the report is to ultimately help drive positive responses to policy. The study discusses key findings regarding age groups heavily affected by homelessness, trends in the occurrence of homelessness, and related factors – such as begging.
Read the study here.
Emerging Strategies for Addressing Racial Inequalities in Our Efforts to End Homelessness
Policy Advisor, Brittani Manzo, discusses ideas on how to better understand and address racial disparities within homelessness that emerged at the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness’s (USICH) Thought Leadership Convening on Ending Family Homelessness. According to partners from the Center for Social Innovation (C4SI), Marc Dones and Jeff Olivet, people of color, particularly African Americans and Native Americans, have a significantly greater chance of experiencing homelessness than other ethnicities. Some ways that USICH and local and federal partners suggest approaching the issue: using data to build an understanding of the scope of racial disparities and over-representation, map local stakeholders, and engage in conversations with partners to build a shared understanding of the factors that are driving the issue, develop and test strategies to reverse the dynamics identified, and more.
Read the article here.
Housing First in the Canary Islands of Spain
A housing first initiative will be introduced to people experiencing street homelessness in the Canary Islands of Spain for the first time. The local government is collaborating with various organizations, such as RAIS Fundación and the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, to implement the program. According to La Opinión de Tenerife, 82% of participants are middle-aged men. The mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, is placing emphasis on the need for more long-term, permanent solutions to homelessness, rather than temporary fixes.
Read the article here.
