This third volume in the UNANIMA International (UI) series explores how homelessness is experienced by a range of marginalised groups from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe, and particularly by women and children. It highlights how homelessness intersects with other global issues and showcases best practices that Ul’s partners are implementing at all levels in different parts of the world. The result is a compelling, evidence-based narrative that provides a multilateral focus on homelessness and its various manifestations, many of which tend to be overlooked.
Coinciding with International Social Justice Day, the publication launch in New York on 20 February showcased the perspective of twelve of the individuals and organisations who contributed to the book.
The localised perspectives presented were rich and very varied, but there were some common threads that ran through the complex global picture that emerged.
Homelessness and displacement were consistently presented not as a stand-alone phenomenon, but one that intersects with other trends and issues. One such trend is climate change, the leading cause of internal displacement over the past decade, which has forced a rising number of people to live in informal settlements (slums) and denied them access to adequate housing, healthcare, education and work. Wars and conflicts also take their toll. And homelessness is often intertwined with gender-based violence, substance misuse, mental trauma and physical ill-health.
Another recurrent theme was the ambivalent behaviour of governments who make empty promises and in practice take a punitive or indifferent stance. Latonya Ludford of The Shift, Canada, a global movement to secure the human right to housing, pointed out that homelessness is treated as a crime in many places. Indu Prakash Singh of CityMakers Mission International echoed this, citing an Indian Supreme Court judge who, only two weeks ago, referred to homeless people as “parasites”. Dr. Ify Ofong, Main Representative to the UN, WorldWIDE Network Nigeria, brought the African perspective to the forum. She told of how women and girls in Africa are homeless due to customary practices denying them land rights, that the authorities turn a blind eye to.
Sr Jean Quinn, Daughters of Wisdom and Executive Director of UNANIMA International, reminded those present that although states have a leading role in the prevention of homelessness, they are not alone in their responsibility. “It is the responsibility of all of us, as global citizens, to bring about a just society,” she said.
Donald Whitehead, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless (USA) has his own story of overcoming homelessness. He spoke of the racial disparities he experienced in his personal struggle and the structural barriers that have never been addressed in many parts of the world, and underlined the importance of grassroots mobilisation.
Sr Crystal Anievas, NDS, contributed a chapter to the book about her experience of what she calls “compounded homelessness”, wherein one can be rendered even more homeless than before. After a typhoon in a Philippines coastal district, Crystal and her Notre Dame de Sion community launched #QuezonRebuild, a campaign to help local people rebuild their homes. Families received funds to design and rebuild their new homes and committed to a timeline within which to complete the job. While Crystal recognises that the solution was a temporary one that will only last until the next typhoon, she noted that the participative approach boosted morale, and she sees a role for faith-based organisations in supporting the resilience of local communities in the face of disaster.
Although the insights shared were often troubling, the speakers’ passion and their determination to strive for change were tangible, and many pathways forward were proposed. The last section of the book sets out comprehensive policy and advocacy recommendations and provides the resources for creating trauma-informed and context-specific models of support to address the root causes of homelessness, with a view to helping policy-makers and other key players develop best practices and set better standards for people experiencing homelessness.
The hope of UNANIMA International is that their research and advocacy will promote a paradigm shift, where homelessness and displacement are not seen as a personal failure but rather the structural failure and human violation that they are.
The Hidden Faces of Homelessness: Global Insights and Pathways Forward is free to download on UNANIMA International’s website.
The Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion is an official coalition member of UNANIMA International.