Homelessness in France

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Homelessness in France is a significant social issue that is estimated to affect around 300,000 people - a figure that has doubled since 2012 (141,500) and tripled since 2001 (93,000). Around 185,000 people are currently staying in shelters, some 100,000 are in temporary housing for people seeking asylum and 16,000 live in slums. [1] [2] [3]

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One study of homeless in Paris found that homeless people have a high degree of social proximity to other people living in conditions of poverty. [4] And terms in the media used to describe homelessness are formed around poverty and vagrancy. [5]

Some researchers maintain that a Housing First policy would not solve the homelessness issue in France. [6] [7]

Some researchers maintain that industrial restructuring in France led to the loss of some jobs among blue-collar workers whose skills did not transfer readily to other job sectors, which in turn led to a rise in homelessness. [8]

Homeless children in France is not a new phenomenon; the writer Emile Zola wrote about homeless children in late nineteenth century France. [9]

The homeless emergency number in France is 115. [10] The line is operated by SAMU Social.[ citation needed ]

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Statistics

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public housing</span> Residential properties owned by a government

Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a combination thereof. The details, terminology, definitions of poverty, and other criteria for allocation may vary within different contexts, but the right to rent such a home is generally rationed through some form of means-testing or through administrative measures of housing needs. One can regard social housing as a potential remedy for housing inequality. Within the OECD, social housing represents an average of 7% of national housing stock (2020), ranging from ~34% in the Netherlands to less than 1% in Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slum</span> Highly populated urban residential area consisting mostly of decrepit housing units

A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inhabited by impoverished people. Although slums are usually located in urban areas, in some countries they can be located in suburban areas where housing quality is low and living conditions are poor. While slums differ in size and other characteristics, most lack reliable sanitation services, supply of clean water, reliable electricity, law enforcement, and other basic services. Slum residences vary from shanty houses to professionally built dwellings which, because of poor-quality construction or lack of basic maintenance, have deteriorated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in the United States</span>

In the United States, the number of homeless people on a given night in January 2023 was more than 650,000 according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homelessness has increased in recent years, in large part due to an increasingly severe housing shortage and rising home prices in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homeless shelter</span> Service agency that provides temporary residence for homeless people

Homeless shelters are a type of service that provides temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street newspaper</span> Newspaper sold by the homeless or poor

Street newspapers are newspapers or magazines sold by homeless or poor individuals and produced mainly to support these populations. Most such newspapers primarily provide coverage about homelessness and poverty-related issues, and seek to strengthen social networks within homeless communities. Street papers aim to give these individuals both employment opportunities and a voice in their community. In addition to being sold by homeless individuals, many of these papers are partially produced and written by them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street children</span> Homeless children living on the street

Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers use UNICEF's concept of boys and girls, aged under 18 years, for whom "the street" has become home and/or their source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised. Street girls are sometimes called gamines, a term that is also used for Colombian street children of either sex.

The word banlieue, which is French for "suburb", does not necessarily refer to an environment of social disenfranchisement. Indeed, there exist many wealthy suburbs, such as Neuilly-sur-Seine and Versailles outside Paris. Nevertheless, the plural term banlieues has often been used to describe troubled suburban communities—those with high unemployment, high crime rates, as well as frequently, a high proportion of residents of foreign origin mainly from former French African colonies and therefore Berbers, Afroids, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homeless women in the United States</span>

Out of 10,000 female individuals 13 and over are homeless in the United States. Although studies reflect that circumstances vary depending on each individual, the average homeless woman is 35 years old, has children, is a member of a minority community, and has experienced homelessness more than once in their lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affordable housing</span> Housing affordable to those with a median household income

Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affordable housing refers to mortgages and a number of forms that exist along a continuum – from emergency homeless shelters, to transitional housing, to non-market rental, to formal and informal rental, indigenous housing, and ending with affordable home ownership. Demand for affordable housing is generally associated with a decrease in housing affordability, such as rent increases, in addition to increased homelessness.

Housing First is a policy that offers unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward. It was first discussed in the 1990s, and in the following decades became government policy in certain locations within the Western world. There is a substantial base of evidence showing that Housing First is both an effective solution to homelessness and a form of cost savings, as it also reduces the use of public services like hospitals, jails, and emergency shelters. Cities like Helsinki and Vienna in Europe have seen dramatic reductions in homelessness due to the adaptation of Housing First policies, as have the North American cities Columbus, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Medicine Hat, Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in the United Kingdom</span>

Poverty in the United Kingdom is the condition experienced by the portion of the population of the United Kingdom that lacks adequate financial resources for a certain standard of living, as defined under the various measures of poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in the United States</span>

In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. In 2020, there were 37.9 million people in poverty. Some of the many causes include income, inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education. The majority of adults living in poverty are employed and have at least a high school education. Although the US is a relatively wealthy country by international standards, it has a persistently high poverty rate compared to other developed countries due in part to a less generous welfare system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness</span> Lacking stable, safe, functional housing

Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure, and people who leave their homes because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discrimination against homeless people</span>

Discrimination against homeless people is categorized as the act of treating people who lack housing in a prejudiced or negative manner due to the fact that they are homeless. Other factors can compound discrimination against homeless people including discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, age, mental illness, and other considerations.

Crisis accommodation is housing provided to people experiencing temporary or ongoing conditions of mental or physical health challenges. It aims to remove them from an otherwise harmful environment and allowing them to improve their situations from a safe and stable environment. Situations that may be alleviated through crisis accommodation include but are not limited to homelessness, domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. Crisis accommodation is typically provided through government organisations, not-for-profit organisations and charities. Crisis accommodation is also known as housing subsidies in other words. Crisis accommodation is provided everywhere around the world across various countries. There are other factors such as availability of the services and reasons like poverty and accumulation of debt that affect homelessness which needs to be taken into account in order to solve it as more people tend to look for urgent support when they are facing this crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in India</span> Major social issue in India

Homelessness is a major issue in India. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines 'homeless' as those who do not live in a regular residence. The United Nations Economic and Social Council Statement has a broader definition for homelessness; it defines homelessness as follows: ‘When we are talking about housing, we are not just talking about four walls and a roof. The right to adequate housing is about security of tenure, affordability, access to services and cultural adequacy. It is about protection from forced eviction and displacement, fighting homelessness, poverty and exclusion. India defines 'homeless' as those who do not live in Census houses, but rather stay on pavements, roadsides, railway platforms, staircases, temples, streets, in pipes, or other open spaces. There are 1.77 million homeless people in India, or 0.15% of the country's total population, according to the 2011 census consisting of single men, women, mothers, the elderly, and the disabled. However, it is argued that the numbers are far greater than accounted by the point in time method. For example, while the Census of 2011 counted 46,724 homeless individuals in Delhi, the Indo-Global Social Service Society counted them to be 88,410, and another organization called the Delhi Development Authority counted them to be 150,000. Furthermore, there is a high proportion of mentally ill and street children in the homeless population. There are 18 million street children in India, the largest number of any country in the world, with 11 million being urban. Finally, more than three million men and women are homeless in India's capital city of New Delhi; the same population in Canada would make up approximately 30 electoral districts. A family of four members has an average of five homeless generations in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelessness in Vancouver</span> Social crisis in Vancouver

Homelessness is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, over the last decade. According to the United Nations, homelessness can either be relative or absolute. Absolute homelessness describes people living in absence of proper physical shelter. Relative homelessness describes people living in poor conditions of health or security, including an absence of both personal safety and steady income despite having physical shelter to reside in. As of 2023, roughly 2,422 people in Vancouver are subject to one of these types of homelessness, or are transitioning between them.

The Foyer housing model is a method of transitional housing for youth that evolved from temporary housing for laborers in Europe. After World War II, foyers were used to provide accommodation for a movement of people from rural France to cities seeking work. The term "foyer" means hearth in French. They later developed to house migrant workers, primarily from Algeria, serving as a path to independent labor and accommodation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housing insecurity in the United States</span>

Housing insecurity is the lack of security in an individual shelter that is the result of high housing costs relative to income and is associated with poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, overcrowding, and homelessness.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "French homeless population doubled since 2012, set for new spike under Covid". RFI. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  2. Duboua-Lorsch, Lucie (2020-11-16). "France has 300,000 homeless people". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  3. "Global Homelessness Statistics".
  4. Firdion, Jean‐Marie, and Maryse Marpsat. "A research program on homelessness in France." Journal of Social Issues 63, no. 3 (2007): 567-587.
  5. Damon, Julien, and Godfrey I. Rogers. "The Terminology of Homelessness in France in News Agency Dispatches." Population (English Edition, 2002-) 57, no. 3 (2002): 555-567.
  6. Pleace, Nicholas. "Housing First." European Observatory on Homelessness (2012).
  7. Pleace, Nicholas. "Exploring the potential of the ‘Housing First’model." Review for the French Government. Accessed 26 (2011).
  8. Shinn, Marybeth. "International Homelessness: Policy, Socio‐Cultural, and Individual Perspectives." Journal of Social Issues 63, no. 3 (2007): 657-677.
  9. Shane, Paul G. "Changing patterns among homeless and runaway youth." American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 59, no. 2 (1989): 208.
  10. "Shaping Europe's digital future | Shaping Europe's digital future".
  11. Strategies to Combat Homelessness. United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. UN-HABITAT. 2000.
  12. "Mobile Teams assisting homeless people in France". Red Cross EU Office. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  13. "France must do more for its homeless, says UN housing expert". euronews. 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The homeless in France". Ined - Institut national d’études démographiques. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  15. 1 2 3 McQueen, Paul (2017-01-20). "Homelessness in Paris: The Darker Side of the City of Light". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2021-10-30.