18th European Research Conference on Homelessness

12th-13th of September, 2024

Budapest, Hungary

VENUE: Central European University, Budapest

About the Conference

FEANTSA’s European Observatory on Homelessness, the Metropolitan Research Institute, and BMSZKI were pleased to host the 18th European Research Conference on Homelessness in Budapest, Hungary, on September 12th and 13th, 2024. As Europe’s leading research conference on homelessness, it explored recent evidence on the broad theme of homelessness and housing exclusion from across Europe and beyond. A special stream focused on data collection methods and ongoing national, regional, and local level counts. Early career researchers also had the opportunity to present their research activities.

Download the programme:

Keynote speakers

Bálint Misetics, Hungary, is a social policy expert whose work integrates research, advocacy, policy, and fieldwork. He is currently working for the Municipality of Budapest as the Senior Advisor to the Mayor on Housing and Social Policy, and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Municipal Foundation for Social Policy. He was the author of the Municipality’s new strategy on homelessness which attempts to reframe homelessness as a housing problem.

Ruth Owen, Belgium, is Deputy Director at FEANTSA (European Federation of National Associations Working with the Homeless), where she had worked since 2011. She is an expert on homelessness and public policies to address it, notably in European contexts. She has a special interest in housing policy. Prior to working on homelessness, Ruth studied geography and worked as a teacher in London.

John Sylvestre, Canada, is a Full Professor in the School of Psychology and a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services, at the University of Ottawa. His interests lie in the study and evaluation of community mental health programs, with a particular interest in homelessness and poverty. His recent work focuses on community development and social change strategies in social housing.

Dorottya Szikra, HU Dorottya Szikra is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest, and Visiting Professor at the Department of Gender Studies, CEU Vienna. She is also associated with CEU Democracy Institute. Her main research field is welfare state and family policy development in Central and Eastern Europe. Between 2016 and 2020 she acted as the co-chair of the European Social Policy Analysis Network (ESPAnet).Since 2021 she has served as a member of the EC commissioned High-Level Group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU.

Planned Schedule

The conference will be held on Thursday and Friday, September 12th - 13th, 2024, starting at 13:00 on Thursday and closing at 17:00 on Friday, followed by a drinks reception. Optional field visits will be planned for Thursday morning. The conference dinner will be held on Thursday evening.

Venue and Fees

The sessions of the Conference will be held at the facilities of the Central European University in Budapest. The conference fee is 200 EURO (incl. meals and coffee breaks during the conference, including dinner). Presenters and PhD students pay a reduced fee of 100 EURO. Please sign up for the conference dinner and the special accommodation package (on a first come first served basis) upon registration from July 8th, 2024. A detailed cancellation policy will be announced on the registration page.

Programme

Field visits in Budapest - 11th September, 13h00-16h00

BMSZKI - Trauma-informed gynaecological service for homeless women (Symposium)

Field visits in Budapest - 12th September, 09h30-11h00

BMSZKI - Szabolcs street hostel and health center

BMSZKI - No Slum community housing project

Oltalom Charity Service – Low threshold complex and John Wesley Theological College

Field visits in Budapest - 12th September, 10h00-11h30

From Street to Home Association - Project visit

Main Programme - 12th September

Registrations (AULA) | 12h30-13h30

Plenary Session I (Room: Auditorium) | 14h00-15h15

Chair: Volker Busch-Geertsema, DE

Dorottya Szikra, HU: Illiberal Welfare States in the making

Bálint Misetics, HU: Understanding Homelessness: Housing and Capital

Seminar Session One | 16h00-17h30:

Seminar 1: Data Collection Methodologies I

Chair: Lars Benjaminsen, DK

Philipp Schnell, AT: Strategies for Measuring Homelessness in a Federally Organized State – the Case of Austria

Evelien Demaerschalk, Nana Mertens, Koen Hermans, BE: Integrating a Street Count and Extensive Service-based Homelessness Count

Seminar 2: Fidelity of Housing First

Chair: Volker Busch-Geertsema, DE

Ashley Ward, Samara Jones, Stephen Gaetz, CA: Validation of a Brief Fidelity Self-Assessment Tool for Housing First (HF) Interventions for Youth: Pilot Testing

Riikka Perälä, Saija Turunen, FI: Adapting Housing First. Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on Adaptations to the Housing First Model in Four European countries

Seminar 3: Understanding and Addressing LGBTQI+ Homelessness

Chair: Freek Spinnewijn, BE

Ana Dresler and Mauro Striano, BE: Housing Exclusion among Sex Workers in Brussels. Quantitative and Qualitative Data Concerning Trans* people and Men Having Sexual Relations with Other Men in Exchange of Money or Services in Brussels

Claudia Steckelberg, DE: LGBTIQ+ and Homelessness in Germany - Queer Perspectives, Experiences and Needs

Seminar 4: Representations and Perceptions

Chair: Masa Filipovic Hrast, SI

Magdalena Mostowska and Ewelina Biczyńska, PL: The Public Memorialization of Homeless Deaths

Simone Helleren, UK: Stigma and the Front-line Worker: How Our Homelessness Systems Reproduce and Challenge Stigma

Seminar 5: Women’s Homelessness I

Chair: Isabel Baptista, PT

Dora Welker, HU: Shared Domestic Abuse Refuge in the Age of Housing First

Timo Weishaupt, DE: Female, Homeless, without a Safety Net? A Critical Perspective on How the Welfare State Protects Homeless Women

Seminar 6: Housing Instability and Evictions

Chair: Nóra Teller, HU

Bart Put, Emma Hens, & Inge Pasteels, BE: Lacunae in the Prevention of Evictions in the Flemish Private Rental Market: The Perspective of Social Service Providers

Miroslava Hlinčíková, SK: Families without Stable Homes in Continuous Change. How Does the Welfare State Approach Families During Uncertain Times in Slovakia?

Poster Session (Room: AULA) | 17h30-18h45

Focus session (Room: Auditorium): “Talk with us, not about us” | 17h30-18h00

Participation of people with lived experience of homelessness in housing activism and homeless services in 21th century Hungary.

Gyula Balog (HU), Katalin Gyöngyösi (HU), and discussion with colleagues with lived experience of the Hungarian “City is for All” housing advocacy group