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For the last three years, FEANTSA (European federation of national organisations working with the homeless) has facilitated exchanges between local authorities on approaches to tackling homelessness by organising an annual meeting on local homeless strategies. A core group of cities have now decided to launch HABITACT to create a forum of exchange on local homeless strategies. These founding cities are: Amsterdam, Athens, Dublin, Esch-sur-Alzette, Ghent, Odense, Madrid, and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The launch of HABITACT coincides with the growing political momentum at EU level on the need to tackle homelessness in Europe (see European Parliament Written Declaration on ending homelessness), and with the European Year 2010 for combating poverty and social exclusion. HABITACT will build capacity of local policy-makers to reduce homelessness in their local communities through transnational exchange and peer learning around common themes of interest. These policy exchanges will be supported and facilitated by European research and policy tools (such as the ETHOS typology of homelessness and housing exclusion). The expertise gathered within these exchanges will be disseminated widely through relevant HABITACT toolkits, publications and webtools. Activities will include developing a series of thematic seminars, supporting cities to set up European projects on homelessness, developing a HABITACT toolkit to develop effective local homeless strategies, publishing regular bulletins with news on local developments, and much more. HABITACT is open to all local practitioners in EU/EEA countries who are working in the area of homelessness. To join HABITACT or to receive more information about HABITACT, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or consult the website www.habitact.eu |
