Structural solution

The humanitarian crisis related to the significant influx of people looking for asylum has generated a heated debate in the European Union that has attracted a lot of attention in the media and engaged not only policymakers but also public opinion. Although it is undeniable that 2015 has witnessed an unprecedented number of asylum applicants, the European asylum system suffers from serious structural problems that have been hindering an adequate support and provision of services for years.

According to EU law, a set of material reception conditions (among other measures) should be implemented in order to prevent asylum seekers from living in inadequate housing and sleeping rough. The problem, however, is that in several EU countries there are not enough places in specific premises for asylum seekers. As a consequence, public authorities often rely on homeless services, which unfortunately are not adapted to asylum seekers’ specific needs and do not have the capacity to satisfy all the demand either. The lack of places in specific premises and in general homeless services leads many asylum seekers to be accommodated in hotels where they do not receive adequate support or, even worse, to live in camps and on the streets.

Obtaining the status of refugee does not necessarily mean applicants no longer risk being on the streets: besides the structural lack of adequate housing, refugees generally have to leave within a short time the accommodation provided during the asylum procedure and because of a lack of sufficient resources to pay a rental guarantee and discrimination in the private rental market, they are vulnerable to homelessness. Those whose asylum application are refused and end up residing irregularly are in an even worse situation and low threshold services are often their only recourse, if national legislation allows it. Homeless services therefore are one of the main providers, not only during the asylum procedure but also at the end of it.

The supply of accommodation and support, which cannot meet the huge and increasing demand, inevitably puts the pressure on the service providers. Even without the current humanitarian crisis, the structural problems in member states’ housing markets generate housing exclusion among people facing poverty and social exclusion. Solving structural housing problems would have a significant positive impact, not only on newcomers but also on those who have already been facing homelessness and housing exclusion in the EU. Failure to properly plan for and address these emerging housing needs will compound existing problems.

Member states need to invest in reception services in the short-term and in housing in the longer-term but national actions need to be co-ordinated and facilitated at EU level. The EU needs to acknowledge the important role played by the homeless sector in providing accommodation and other basic services to asylum applicants and refugees, as well as to those whose asylum application is refused. To develop adequate migration and asylum policies, access to housing needs to be the priority: once newcomers have a place in which they can live with dignity, access to services and to the labour market, effective integration into society can become a reality.

Mauro Striano, policy officer, European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless