The International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH) was recognized in 1987 by the United Nations. It was first declared, in principle, in UN resolution 36/71 [1] in 1981, and proclaimed officially in 1982 in resolution 37/221. [2] It was mainly aimed at improving shelter / housing for the poor in general (and not just homeless people), especially in developing countries. It was also a follow-up to the Habitat I conference in 1976.
In several countries, national actions were created, such as Australia which created an IYSH Secretariat, or the United Kingdom where a trust was created to collect donations from housing associations for shelter projects in developing countries, with some projects part-funded by the Overseas Development Administration. The trust later evolved into the NGO Homeless International (now operating as Reall, or Real Equity for All).
The World Habitat Awards were created by the BSHF as their contribution to the IYSH. Two other prizes were created by the Japan Housing Association as awards to deserving housing projects, the IYSH Memorial Prize in 1988 and the IYSH Memorial Encouragement Prize in 2006. [3]
| Number | Year | Memorial Prize | Memorial Encouragement Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1988 | Father Jorge Anzorena [4] | |
| 2 | 1989 | Somsook Boonyabancha [4] | |
| 3 | 1990 | Arif Hasan and Sister Annie Abion [4] | |
| 4 | 1991 | Johan Silas and Enrique Ortiz [4] | |
| 5 | 1992 | SPARC [4] | |
| 6 | 1993 | Freedom to Build [4] | |
| 7 | 1994 | People's Dialogue South Africa [4] | |
| 8 | 1995 | Women's Bank and Pagtambayayong Foundation [4] | |
| 9 | 1996 | ||
| 10 | 1997 | ||
| 11 | 1998 | ||
| 12 | 1999 | Human Settlements Foundation (Thailand) [4] | |
| 13 | 2000 | ||
| 14 | 2001 | Sevanatha (Sri Lanka) [4] | |
| 15 | 2002 | Shack Dwellers Federation Namibia and ASAG Ahmedabad [4] | |
| 16 | 2003 | ||
| 17 | 2004 | Denis Murphy [4] | |
| 18 | 2005 | ||
| 19 | 2006 | Lumanti (Nepal) [4] | TAO-Pilipinas (Philippines) [5] |
| 20 | 2007 | Teofang Tnaut (Cambodia) [6] | |
| 21 | 2008 | Help-O (Sri Lanka) [4] | Urban Development Resource Center (Mongolia) [3] |
| 22 | 2009 | Urban Poor Development Fund in Cambodia [4] | |
| 23 | 2010 |
Homelessness in Canada was not a social problem until the 1980s. Canadian government housing policies and programs in place throughout the 1970s were based on a concept of shelter as a basic need or requirement for survival and of the obligation of government and society to provide adequate housing for everyone. Public policies shifted away from rehousing in the 1980s in wealthy Western countries like Canada, which led to a de-housing of households that had previously been housed. By 1987, when the United Nations established the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH), homelessness had become a serious social problem in Canada. The report of the major 1987 IYSH conference held in Ottawa said that housing was not a high priority for government, and this was a significant contributor to the homelessness problem. While there was a demand for adequate and affordable housing for low income Canadian families, government funding was not available. In the 1980s a "wider segment of the population" began to experience homelessness for the first time—evident through their use of emergency shelters and soup kitchens. Shelters began to experience overcrowding, and demand for services for the homeless was constantly increasing. A series of cuts were made to national housing programs by the federal government through the mid-1980s and in the 1990s. While Canada's economy was robust, the cuts continued and in some cases accelerated in the 1990s, including cuts to the 1973 national affordable housing program. The government solution for homelessness was to create more homeless shelters and to increase emergency services. In the larger metropolitan areas like Toronto the use of homeless shelters increased by 75% from 1988 to 1998. Urban centres such as Montreal, Laval, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary all experienced increasing homelessness.
Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide 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. They are similar to, but distinguishable from, various types of emergency shelters, which are typically operated for specific circumstances and populations—fleeing natural disasters or abusive social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios, and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development held in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976. UN-Habitat maintains its headquarters at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya. It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group. The mandate of UN-Habitat derives from the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996. The twin goals of the Habitat Agenda are adequate shelter for all and the development of sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world.
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.
Slum upgrading is an integrated approach that aims to turn around downward trends in an area. These downward trends can be legal, physical (infrastructure), social or economic." The main objective of slum upgrading is to remove the poor living standards of slum dwellers and largely focuses on removing slum dwellers altogether.
Otto H. Königsberger was a German architect who worked mainly in urban development planning in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with the United Nations.
Breaking Ground, formerly Common Ground, is a nonprofit social services organization in New York City whose goal is to create high-quality permanent and transitional housing for the homeless. Its philosophy holds that supportive housing costs substantially less than homeless shelters — and many times less than jail cells or hospital rooms, and that people with psychiatric and other problems can better manage them once they are permanently housed and provided with services. Since its founding in 1990 by Rosanne Haggerty, the organization has created more than 5,000 units of housing for the homeless. "This is about creating a small town, rather than just a building," according to Haggerty. "It's about a real mixed society, working with many different people." Haggerty left the organization in 2011 to found Community Solutions, Inc. Brenda Rosen was promoted from Director, Housing Operations and Programs to Executive Director, and has led the organization since.
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; affordability; location and cultural adequacy.
Picture the Homeless (PTH) is an American homeless person–led rights organization founded in 1999 by Lewis Haggins and Anthony Williams. It focuses on human rights, housing, police violence and other social justice issues. It was housed originally in Judson Memorial Church, which still hosts its Longest Night of the Year memorial event, and was located for a time in El Barrio and 2427 Morris Avenue in the Bronx. It is currently based at 104B E 126th Street in Manhattan.
Dolores Delahanty is a social activist and political leader in Louisville, Kentucky. She was a founding member of the National Women's Political Caucus during the early Civil Rights Movement, and she was critical to the success of Kentucky's Fair Credit Law. Delahanty has devoted her life to improving the lives of others, primarily those of Kentucky women and children.
The UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award was created by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS) in 1989 to encourage and recognize the countries, governments, organizations, and individuals who have made great contributions to the development of housing. It is the most prestigious human settlements award in the world by the United Nations, given by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and has recognized 192 initiatives since its launch in 1989.
Wintringham, based in Victoria, Australia, is a secular, not-for-profit welfare company providing advocacy, support and aged care services to elderly homeless men and women, and to financially disadvantaged elderly people who are at risk of homelessness.
The St Mungo Community Housing Association, working as St Mungo's, is a charity registered in England to help homeless people.
Streetlife is a registered charity based in Blackpool, United Kingdom. The charity was founded in 1982 and their shelter opened in 1992. Their aim is to provide shelter and support to young homeless people across North West England aged between 16-25. Around 400 young people access Streetlife's services each year.
Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, took place in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 – 20 October 2016.
Community-led housing is a method of forming future residents into a 'building group' who contribute to the design and development of new housing to meet their longer term needs, rather than leaving all design decisions to a developer looking to maximise the immediate financial return.
Homelessness in California is considered a major social issue.
Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the informal housing industry is part of the informal sector.
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