Provivienda and HOGAR SÍ have presented this morning the conference "Keys for Change: The Housing Rights Project in Asturias", with the collaboration of the City Council of Avilés, the City Council of Gijón-Xixón and the Principality of Asturias.
The event took place on the occasion of the presentation of the learning and knowledge generated through the pilot project of social innovation "Housing Rights", which has been developed since 2022 in Asturias, thanks to the financing of the Next Generation EU funds through the Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030.
Together with the participation of twelve regional and local public administrations, the project has sought to promote deinstitutionalization processes to transform the homelessness care system in 8 locations throughout the country: Avilés, Barcelona, Cartagena, Gijón, Madrid, Mallorca, Murcia and Seville.
The meeting was welcomed by Mariví Monteserín, Mayoress of Avilés, who pointed out: "With this program we are taking a further step forward, acting in a preventive way with those people who, without having a real problem of homelessness, present risks that could trigger this situation in the future. To this end, we will promote models of integral accompaniment adapted to the needs of each person".
For her part, Paula Álvarez, Director General of Social Rights Management of the Principality of Asturias, who was also present at the opening, said that the objective of the Government of Asturias "is to end homelessness in Asturias by 2028, for which it will allocate 4.5 million over the next four years from the European Social Fund Plus".
In addition, the Regional Ministry of Social Rights and Welfare is preparing "a line of subsidies for local entities in accordance with the National Strategy against Homelessness", stressed the director general. "These grants will be based on programs that place housing in the first place and also on personalized itineraries of social and labor incorporation of a minimum of twelve months", she added.
During the day, the main results and lessons learned from the project were presented by the Fresno consulting firm. In addition, two round tables were held with the participation of representatives of public administrations, as well as specialists in the field from HOGAR SÍ and Provivienda.
Main results in Asturias
In total, 65 people have participated in "Housing Rights" in Asturias. The project, in addition to providing a residential solution, has offered homeless people the opportunity to work on their life project, access public and community services and have social support and professional accompaniment.
68.57% of the people who were part of the deinstitutionalization process, those who resided in institutions or homes of the traditional network of care for homelessness, have left the project autonomously. While, from the early care line, people in a situation of homelessness of less than 6 months, 100% have left the project autonomously. This difference demonstrates how a rapid response to homelessness offers better results. Likewise, in the line of self-directed support , 90% have emerged autonomously. The latter implies that each homeless person chooses and manages the resources that best suit his or her needs.
Although the final evaluation of the project at the national level will be presented on December 3 and 4 in Madrid, some of the results of the project have already been revealed in Avilés, such as the fact that the professional teams' promotion of autonomy, self-confidence, motivation and support are key for the participants to achieve their life goals in community.
Another conclusion to take into account is that homelessness is a temporary situation. If people feel that they are facing a reversible situation, they offer greater adaptation to change, seek to move and get out of the system, which avoids chronification. In addition, housing as a tool is the first step to improve people's lives. In this sense, the important thing is that people recover their life project and leave the homelessness care system.
For the organizations, projects such as "Housing Rights" show that when resources are mobilized and there is a will to innovate, great results can be achieved, and they encourage public administrations to convert these lessons learned into public policies that are consolidated within the portfolio of services offered by the homelessness care system.
