Rising Street Homelessness in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
As stated in Al Jazeera, there are a reported 15,000 people living on the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than triple the number in 2014. The article sites economic hardship leading to an influx of people experiencing homelessness, following the city’s hosting of the Olympic Games. Many people migrated from other states to find employment from the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics and subsequently lost their jobs.
“We have never had such a large number in the streets,” stated Rio’s secretary of social assistance and human rights, Pedro Fernandes. The city is making efforts to improve temporary accommodation and encourage utilization.
Read the article here.
The Housing First National Conference
Homeless Link has opened registration to attend the Housing First National Conference in London. It will take place on Wednesday, February 28, 2018, from 10 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. In conjunction with their Housing First England Project, the purpose of the event is to examine what has been effective; what challenges have been faced and how to overcome them; and how to capture and utilize service impact to draw in funding and meet commissioning requirements. Homeless Link is calling on homelessness service providers across England to consider delivering housing first to meet the requirements of their local communities. Research has shown that people are more likely to sustain permanent housing and progress in other aspects of their lives when given a stable home and intensive, open-ended support.
Find out more here.
Three New Cities Join the European End Street Homelessness Campaign
Late last month, cities participating in the European End Street Homelessness Campaign convened to to share their ongoing journey to end street homelessness in their cities. In addition, three European cities – Athens, Bratislava and Sheffield – formally joined the initiative. According to World Habitat, while each city faces unique challenges, a shared challenge is the lack of efficient responses and resources to drive reductions in homelessness. Economic downturn in Greece plays a factor in the state of homelessness in Athens, while Bratislava has struggled to define homelessness locally. Sheffield faces an increasing number of people experiencing homelessness. World Habitat welcomed the cities to the initiative by highlighting the importance of hope: “each city brings vastly different contexts but share the belief that change is possible”.
Read the article here.