Financing housing solutions for the homeless in Europe

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this paper do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the CEB concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. [...] While the EU funds contribute to the successful implementation of projects to combat homelessness, Henrique Joaquim, the coordinator of the Portuguese National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People (ENIPSSA), has emphasised that the creation of a single funding instrument is of utmost importance to reduce bureaucratic barriers and facilitate the access to the funds (Joaquim, 2024). [...] So far, the involvement of European MDBs in the financing of homelessness solutions is limited due to the mostly small size of these projects as well as the nature of the projects and their need for a high degree of grant funding. [...] Despite these advances in the funding of housing solutions for the homeless, challenges remain, such as three-year limits on the duration of funding contracts and delays in the disbursement of funds, which can affect the sustainability of Housing First initiatives (Pleace, Baptista, & Knutagård, 2019). [...] This can impede the implementation of the project particularly in relation to the provision of affordable accommodation for new participants, but is also constraints the project’s capacity, as shown in the case of Lisbon, where people who would otherwise be able to transition out of the project are unable to afford housing on the private market.