In Germany, around 50,000 people are homeless – and the number is constantly increasing. “Housing First” is the name of a concept from the USA that is intended to help against this. How does it work in a metropolis like Berlin?
Just an apartment for the homeless without any ifs and buts? How is that supposed to work in a city like Berlin, where there is already far too little affordable housing and an estimated up to 10,000 people live on the streets?
“It won’t work if we don’t have enough apartments, no matter how great the social-educational offers are,” says Corinna Müncho, the project manager of “Housing First Berlin”, who has been driving the project forward in the capital for five years. “But we can show that the housing industry is ready for this and that it is possible for these people to live well and with dignity in an apartment.”
To achieve this, everyone involved in the project has to do a lot of convincing with housing associations and cooperatives, private landlords, residents and, of course, those in government. With the help of “Housing First Berlin”, around 140 apartments have currently been provided to long-term homeless people, 80 of them to women. And in the vast majority of cases it works well, says Müncho, despite possible skepticism or advantages towards the homeless; so far there has only been one eviction notice.
Homeless assistance is being turned inside out
The idea behind “Housing First” is – as the name suggests – to first find an apartment for long-time homeless people who have lost connection to the social system without any prerequisites. So without those affected by addiction problems having to go through withdrawal or having to prove their “ability to live” in some other way, as the project description says. The homeless only have to accept offers of help and advice from social workers.
The approach was developed around the turn of the millennium in the USA as an alternative to the existing system of emergency shelters, outpatient help and temporary accommodation. The concept has also been practiced in Germany for several years, in Hamburg, Bremen, Stuttgart and Cologne. Düsseldorf for example.
“Housing First” has been available in Berlin since 2018, initially in the form of two model projects, one of which is only for women. Since the middle of this year, four other project sponsors have adopted the concept. The projects are financed through annual grants from the State of Berlin, which amounts to a total of 6.1 million euros in the 2022/2023 double budget. Things look similar for the next two years; what happens after that depends on the political decisions of the House of Representatives.
From model project to rule
This is exactly where Müncho sees one of the biggest problems in establishing “Housing First” sustainably. Many of the homeless depend on years of support and guidance on the way to a self-determined life in their own apartment. This is difficult to ensure with a capped budget that has to be re-approved from year to year.
It is important to make “Housing First” part of the regulatory system of state aid for the homeless. The way there is still a long way, says the project manager. However, a lot has already changed at federal and state level since the European Parliament announced the goal of eliminating homelessness in the European Union by 2030 three years ago.
A requirement that the traffic light coalition has also adopted, even if the “action plan against homelessness” announced for this year is not due to be presented by the Federal Ministry of Construction until next spring.
More than half a million homeless people
The numbers recently collected by the Federal Working Group for Homeless Assistance (BAGW) illustrate how urgent the problem is. According to their projections, the number of people without a home increased sharply over the course of 2022, by more than a third compared to 2021, from 383,000 to 607,000.
Last year, 196,000 of them were German citizens and 411,000 were foreigners. According to BAGW, the latter is primarily due to the increase in the number of homeless refugees, especially from Ukraine. The BAGW’s projections include people housed in institutions. There are also people who are temporarily staying with friends or relatives and those who live on the streets without any shelter. Their number was around 50,000 in the course of 2022.
According to BAGW managing director Werena Rosenke, a great deal of effort is needed to achieve the goal of overcoming homelessness by 2030. “Affordable housing is a prerequisite for overcoming homelessness, but targeted measures are needed to get homeless people back into their own apartment, because they are often exposed to prejudice and discrimination.” That’s why Rosenke advocates, among other things, quotas for the homeless, for example when allocating social housing.
Home first does not apply to everyone
The fact that so many of the homeless come from abroad and are therefore not entitled to social benefits in this country limits the possibilities of “Housing First” projects. Only those who are entitled to transfer benefits can be included in these programs, since the money paid by the authorities is used to pay the apartment rents.
For all those without this entitlement to benefits, the only option left is a place in an emergency shelter or under a bridge.