Presentation given by Pedro Cabrera, University of Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, Spain at a FEANTSA seminar on "Key elements for a successful local homeless strategy: How Europe can support local authorities to improve the fight against homelessness", hosted by the Committee of the Regions, June 2007

1. Asociación San Marcellino
Génova, 25 de mayo de 2007
The institutional and budgetary contexts
and how it impacts on the fight against
homelessness at local level
Pedro José Cabrera
Depto. de Sociología y Trabajo Social
Fac. de CC. Humanas y Sociales

2. TRENDS
 A globalized world, but unequal and violent
 Poverty and exclusion, are becoming
structural components.
 “The nation-state is becoming too small for
the big problems of life, and too big for the
small problems of life” (Bell)
 A new localism is needed

3. Why local?
 Privileged place
 Participation
 Territory
 Effective citizenship
 Personal services
 Political rights
 Taxes
 Houses

4. But…
 Global problems / Local solutions
 Citizens or Consumers?
 Virtual territories
 The “dangers” of participation
 Management or policy

5. Institutional Context
 Local competencies
 Decentralization
 Subsidiarity
 Different historical models
 Social Services and Housing
 But also:

Health

Justice

Employment

6. Budgetary problem
 Chronic scarcity of money
 Sources of money
 What priorities?
 Money, a false problem?
 Conceptualization

Planning
 Innovation
 Leadership

7. Social construction of problems
 Electoral bodies
 Visibility of solutions
 Short terms (3-4 years)
 NIMBY
 Policy and business
 Social policy or security policy?

8. Some other specific problems
 Is homelesness really urgent? For whom?
 Roofless and Homeless. High and Low visibility
 The poor belong to…?
 Added problems:
 Migrants
 Mental Health
 Adictions
 Crime

9. The big problem: A wrong vision
 Behaviour / Situation
 They are “different”
 Cleaning the street
 Impossible to solve
 Public against Private
 Best ideas come always from experts and professionals

10. Solutions as Limits
 Emergency vs. Long-term care
 Shelters vs. Integrated programs
 (-) Quality standards (+)
 Hostels vs. Housing
 Individual vs. Community solutions
 Services vs. Normalization