- Provivienda, HOGAR SÍ, and the Government of the Principality of Asturias, the City Council of Gijón and the City Council of Avilés present the innovation project "Housing Rights", which is expected to put an end to homelessness in the Principality of Asturias.
- The presentation ceremony was attended by Melania Álvarez, Councilor for Social Rights and Welfare of the Principality of Asturias, Ana González, Mayor of Gijón, and Mariví Monteserín, Mayor of Avilés.
- Gema Gallardo, general director of Provivienda, and Enrique Martínez, director of innovation for housing rights at HOGAR SÍ, also participated.
- 88 homeless people in the Principality of Asturias will participate in the innovation project presented.
- VIPASA, the company that manages the public housing stock of the Principality of Asturias, is committed to making 23 homes available for the projects. At present, 9 homes have already been granted in Gijón and 3 in Avilés.
Gijón, October 10, 2022. In the framework of the celebration of the World Homelessness Day, HOGAR SÍ and Provivienda, thanks to the financing of the Next Generation EU funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, have presented today the project "Housing Rights". This innovation project is aimed at implementing a housing model that promotes the processes of prevention and deinstitutionalization of people experiencing homelessness. With this project, thanks to the participation of the Government of Asturias and the City Councils of Gijón and Avilés, the aim is to transform public policies for the care of homeless people over the next 3 years.
In the rest of Spain, another 9 public administrations have become involved in this project in which around 1,000 people will participate in, in addition to Gijón and Avilés, these territories: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Mallorca, Murcia and Cartagena.
The presentation was attended by Melania Álvarez, Councilor for Social Rights and Welfare of the Principality of Asturias, Ana González, Mayor of Gijón, and Mariví Monteserín, Mayor of Avilés, the public administrations involved in the projects.
The main objective of "Housing Rights" is to transform the network of resources for homelessness in Spain by providing solutions adapted to each person for a safe and chosen transition to a life in the community. This innovative project aims to promote the development of deinstitutionalization policies, as well as the prevention of institutionalization, so that participants require less support.
In the words of Melania Álvarez, Councilor for Social Rights and Welfare of the Principality of Asturias "this project fits perfectly with the policies in this area that the Government of Asturias has deployed in recent years and that have meant a before and after in the care of homeless people, a change in the approach to intervention policies and people-centered accompaniment". Álvarez has highlighted as an example of this new conception of making policy "the fifty or so people who have gone through the Housing First program since its launch in 2016".
On the other hand, Ana González, Mayor of Gijón, recalled the importance of "taking advantage of all the means provided by the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 to give a boost to housing policies in the face of homelessness". And she stressed that "innovation cannot only be technological, but also social".
Mariví Monteserín, Mayor of Avilés, emphasized that "from the very first moment we saw in this program an opportunity, being able to work together with people willing to take the step from shelter to housing. We are transforming a model with which we must ensure that no one lives on the street because they do not have resources, developing a new model of care so that homeless people can move towards normality and avoid new admissions".
HOGAR SÍ and Provivienda have been developing together since 2017 the Housing First model in Spain, and from both organizations believe that decent housing is the starting point for the recovery of the rights of people experiencing homelessness.
"Housing has to serve as a vehicle to achieve the enjoyment of other rights," said Gema Gallardo, general director of Provivienda. She also highlighted "the commitment and involvement of the City Council of Avilés, Gijón and the Government of the Principality in the promotion of public policies that ensure access to decent and affordable housing for all, in order to work from the needs of the people".
For his part, Enrique Martínez, innovation director of HOGAR SÍ's Housing Rights, insists that "the window of opportunity that has opened to transform the homelessness care system thanks to this innovation project, the European funding and the commitment of the administrations in Asturias is unique and we must take advantage of it". Martínez Cantero has highlighted the efforts being made by the City Councils of Gijón, Avilés and the Principality, since "they favor a necessary transformation process of this system, putting housing and people at the center of the solution", he concludes.
For Provivienda and HOGAR SÍ, the State Law for the Right to Housing, the Comprehensive National Strategy for the Homeless and the National Strategy for Deinstitutionalization are an opportunity to transform the care system for homeless people, placing housing as a basic pillar within our Welfare State.
Since 2017, HOGAR SÍ and Provivienda have joined forces to develop the model. Housing First based housing solutions in Spain. The objectives of this Alliance are threefold:
- Generate a dynamic of development of the model in Spain, respecting the fidelity of the original model.
- Intensify the separation between housing and treatment of people.
- Incorporate other organizations for the development of the model in territories where other entities interested in joining and following the methodology are identified.
HOGAR SÍ is a social, non-profit, independent, plural and statewide entity, created in 1998. We are convinced that it is possible to end homelessness and we believe in the responsibility of facing the problem from the society, putting the focus on the problem and not on the person who suffers it.
Provivienda is a non-profit association that has been working since 1989 so that everyone can enjoy the right to housing on equal terms. From our association we want to offer housing that changes lives and creates community, responding to the residential needs, especially of people in more difficult situations.
