Homeless In Europe Magazine Spring 2026 - Honouring People Who Died Homeless
When death can no longer be prevented, the question becomes how to respond: how to honour those who have died and recognise their lives with dignity. Across Europe, the homelessness sector is developing practices of remembrance, from tributes and memorialisation initiatives to collective learning following deaths among people experiencing homelessness.
Image credit: Anthony Luvera, 2022
Overview
This edition of Homeless in Europe explores how homelessness organisations, public authorities and communities across Europe respond to the deaths of people experiencing homelessness. Rather than focusing solely on mortality as a statistic, the magazine examines how people who die while homeless can be remembered with dignity, how their deaths can be documented, and how these losses can inform better policy and practice.
Drawing on experiences from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Poland and the Czech Republic, the publication highlights initiatives that record homeless deaths, organise memorial events, support bereaved communities, and advocate for systemic change. Contributors argue that remembrance is not only a humanitarian act but also a political one, helping to challenge the invisibility of homelessness and expose failures in housing, healthcare and social protection systems.
Several articles explore the practical realities of accompanying people at the end of life, improving funeral practices, collecting mortality data, and creating spaces for grief among both professionals and service users. The magazine also includes personal tributes, artistic contributions and testimonies from practitioners, illustrating the human impact of homelessness-related deaths.
The edition concludes with six recommendations for policymakers and practitioners, including improving the recording and investigation of homeless deaths, strengthening coordination between services, integrating mortality prevention into homelessness strategies, creating opportunities for remembrance, and providing support for staff and communities affected by loss.
Remembering, Counting, Acting: Homeless Deaths in the UK and France
By Gill Taylor, Strategic Lead - Dying Homeless Project, Museum of Homelessness, & Adèle Lenormand, Record & Report Team Coordinator, Collectif Les Morts de la Rue France
Grief Tending: Why Space to Reflect is Crucial for the Homelessness Sector
By Gill Taylor, Strategic Lead - Dying Homeless Project, Museum of Homelessness
Evolution in Funeral Practices in Paris, France
By Adèle Lenormand, Record & Report Team Coordinator, Collectif Les Morts de la Rue France
From Local Data Collection to a National Network
Insights into national-level data collection and coordination on homelessness and mortality in Italy.
By Caterina Cortese, Social Policy and Research Officer, fio.PSD ETS & Maddalena Floriana Grassi, Social Policy and Research Officer, fio.PSD ETS & Fabio Tesser, Social Worker, Cooperativa La Esse
Before You Leave: Six Recommendations to Improve Policy and Practice
By Various Contributors
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