EUROPE
WITHOUT HOMELESSNESS

Every night in the European Union, at least 895.000 people find themselves homeless. Homelessness is one of the most brutal situations of structural vulnerability a human being can experience. We’re not just talking about the absence of housing but the impossibility of guaranteeing the right to health, employment, security, and even dignity and life itself.

Homelessness is caused by factors far beyond the personal decisions of those who suffer from it. Structural poverty, housing market stress, and the lack of affordable housing stock, as well as the consequences of the economic crisis caused first by COVID-19 and later by the War in Ukraine, have pushed thousands of people into homelessness across all European Union countries.

On June 21st, 2021, the Lisbon Declaration on the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness was signed. This declaration, signed by the main European institutions, the high authorities of the member states of the Union, and important and representative social organizations like FEANTSA, gave birth to the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness, committing its signatories to work towards ending homelessness in Europe by 2030. This commitment includes the following:

1. No one sleeps rough for lack of accessible, safe and appropriate emergency accommodation.

2. No one lives in emergency or transitional accommodation longer than is required for successful move-on to a permanent housing solution.

3. No one is discharged from any institution (e.g. prison, hospital, care facility) without an offer of appropriate housing.

4. Evictions should be prevented whenever possible and no one is evicted without assistance for an appropriate housing solution, when needed.

5. No one is discriminated due to their homelessness status.

After the elections in June 2024 to the European Parliament and the renewal of the European Commission, the mandate of these two institutions will last until mid-2029. The time to deliver on the Lisbon commitments to ensure a home for everyone in the European Union will be almost up, making this legislature absolutely crucial.

The signatories of this manifesto call on all elected members of the European Parliament and future members of the European Commission to keep their commitment to the Lisbon declaration on the European Platform on Combating Homelessness and to realise the goal that by 2030 homelessness will be a problem solved and disappear from our streets.

The countdown to 2030 has begun. Act Now!