On January 23rd of this year, the Praga Museum of Warsaw hosted a seminar inaugurating the “Housing First” project. Special guests at the meeting included representatives of The Y Foundation from Finland, an organization that has successfully implemented the Housing First method, reducing homelessness in Finland to virtually zero. During the seminar, the Finnish partners shared their experiences and presented the main principles of this innovative project. As experts in this field emphasize, homelessness, contrary to popular belief, is not just about the lack of a home. It is also, and perhaps primarily, about great loneliness, a lack of support from others, hopelessness, and helplessness. However, it turns out that the homelessness crisis can be effectively addressed. A pilot project based on the Finnish experience is now being launched in Warsaw and will be implemented in several Warsaw districts.
It is implemented by the Cooperation Fund Foundation, and its national partners are the “First Apartment Poland” Foundation and the Housing Policy Office of the Capital City of Warsaw, which provides housing. The international expert on the project is the Finnish foundation The Y-Foundation.
The Five Principles of NM: Housing, Decision-Making, Recovery, Support, Community
The principles of the “Housing First” method are simple: housing, provided by the national project partner, should be dispersed throughout the local community; Assertive support from a specialist team should be consistent, even when a participant makes a mistake and must face the consequences. It’s also important that the measure of success is the pursuit of gradual improvements in quality of life and health, not, for example, taking up paid employment or complete abstinence.
From Collective Shelters to “Housing First”
Research shows that the current model of helping chronically homeless individuals with mental illness, despite the significant investment of time and resources in providing interventional and social support, proves ineffective. This is evidenced by numerous stays of the same individuals in successive shelters, frequent hospitalizations, police interventions, arrests, uncollectible debts, and the helplessness of support agency staff. In Europe, the USA, Canada, and Australia, the NM method has proven effective and cost-effective in permanently transitioning extremely excluded individuals to a full and dignified life in independent housing.
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More about the project: https://cofund.org.pl/Projects/najpierw-mieszkanie and https://www.czynajpierwmieszkanie.pl/najpierw-mieszkanie-polska/o-projekcie/
