Homeless in Europe Magazine - Special U.S. Edition
Overview
This edition of the Homeless in Europe magazine takes FEANTSA further afield than our usual remit, to look at the state of homelessness policy in the United States of America (U.S.) under the Trump Administration. Through the contributions to this magazine, we will explore the ongoing shift away from longstanding, evidence-based strategies to address homelessness, and the move towards criminalisation and enforced treatment, and what can be learnt from this for the EU context.
Under the second Trump administration, the criminalisation of homelessness has increased (including the penalisation of homeless encampments and street sleeping), funding for housing-based solutions has come under attack, and the dehumanisation of people experiencing homelessness is becoming standardised in political language – including in Presidential Executive Orders. People experiencing homelessness are presented as threats to “public order”, rather than human beings being deprived of countless fundamental human rights.
The U.S. has a longstanding influence on homelessness policy development globally - for better and worse. There is a longstanding tradition of transnational cooperation between researchers, policymakers and practitioners working on homelessness. Housing First is a case in point.
Like the US, Europe is experiencing a surge in authoritarian, populist and far right politics. There are strong transatlantic ties in this context. Only last month President Trump endorsed Viktor Orban for the upcoming Hungarian parliamentary elections. Such dynamics may increase the risk of Trump’s approach to homelessness being adopted in European contexts. It would be erroneous, therefore, not to pay attention as the U.S. undergoes worrying shifts in its approach to homelessness.
As we will see throughout this edition of Homeless in Europe, at the centre of this developing approach is a key contradiction - the “sweeping” of homeless encampments, the targeting and arresting of people experiencing homelessness for non-violent and minor offences, or the running of forced treatment facilities are expensive and have much lower success rates at reducing homelessness than housing-based solutions. We are left to wonder what end these ineffective and expensive approaches serve. It is highly questionable whether decisions about homelessness are being informed by a genuine analysis of what is most likely to work. Instead, rhetoric and policy choices seem to serve broader political goals such as justifying militarisation and authoritarianism, dismantling equality and diversity policies, or fuelling polarisation.
For European readers and policymakers, developments in the U.S. may foreshadow changes that could emerge elsewhere. Parallels to the U.S. landscape, particularly the criminalisation of homelessness and the framing of visible poverty as a public order issue, are already present in several European countries. While the U.S. and European contexts are, of course, different, examining what is happening in the U.S. today can still serve as both a source of insight and a warning for what could occur in Europe.
Contributors to this edition include advocates, researchers, and lawyers directly engaged in responding to the consequences of these policies while continuing to push for solutions grounded in housing, human rights, and evidence. We thank each contributor for finding the time and space to write an article in such a turbulent moment.
Editorial
The contributions gathered in these pages show us that resistance to harmful narratives and policies, respect for the rights of those experiencing homelessness, and the fight for evidence-based approaches persist. This edition of Homeless in Europe works to remind us that policy regression is neither inevitable nor irreversible. By committing to the non-negotiability of housing and human rights, we can shape a different future for both the U.S. and Europe. We hope the magazine sends a message of support to FEANTSA’s US counterparts at this difficult time. By underlining the danger posed by authoritarian populism and the rise of far-right ideologies for the fight against homelessness, we aim to create dialogue and reflection on strategies for resistance and resilience.
The US Federal Government Has Abandoned Evidence-Based Policy on Homelessness: Europe Must Not Follow
By Ruth Owen, Deputy Director, FEANTSA
Updates from a Movement Under Siege: Fighting Criminalization of Homelessness in the U.S.
By Eric Tars, Senior Policy Director, National Homelessness Law Center
Addressing Political Interference in United States Homelessness Policy Through Litigation
By Ann Oliva, CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness
What’s Happening to Homelessness Policy in the US, and What Might Europeans Learn from It?
By Dennis P. Culhane, Professor of Social Policy, University of Pennsylvania
US Inspired, European Shaped – Raids, Deportation and the Criminalisation of Migration
By Simona Barbu, Policy Profiles Team Leader, FEANTSA, & Sergio Peréz, Policy Officer, FEANTSA