FEANTSA Ending Homelessness Awards 3rd Edition 2021

Presented at the high-level conference of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union: Combatting Homelessness - A Priority for our Social Europe

21 June 2021

Meet the winners and learn more about this year's awards here

On the 21st of June, FEANTSA announced the Gold, Silver and Bronze prize winners of our Ending Homelessness Awards 3rd Edition. The awards aim to identify, promote and celebrate three projects that have made the most inspiring use of European funds (European Social Fund (ESF), the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), and/or the European Regional Development Fund) to tackle homelessness.

The Gold Prize winner is Housing First for the Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic, run by Romodrom o.p.s. and Nová Možnost, z.ú. With support from ESD, this project addresses homelessness and housing deprivation of people of Roma origin who are socially excluded or at risk of social exclusion.

The Silver Prize winner is É Uma Mesa, run by Crescer Na Maior, Associação de Intervenção Comunitária. This ESF-funded project aims to improve the quality of life of people experiencing homelessness through an innovative employment response. Housing is considered a basic human right and is the first issue addressed once people are integrated into the project.

The Bronze Prize winner, Housing First Trieste from Italy, is run by Fondazione Diocesana Caritas Trieste Onlus. Combining support from ESF and FEAD, this project promotes the implementation of Housing First in Trieste, spreading the methodology within the municipal social service, based on the first three-year trial that Fondazione Caritas had carried out. Its beneficiaries have all experienced former housing autonomy breakdowns and were either homeless, or living in unsafe, or inadequate accommodations.

The awards ceremony, which was held during the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union's high-level conference: Combatting Homelessness - A Priority for our Social Europe, provided an occasion to celebrate the projects and to learn a little more about what they have achieved. European leaders gathered at the high-level conference to sign the Lisbon Declaration on Combatting Homelessness and launch the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness. The three winning projects of the FEANTSA Ending Homelessness Awards will also be a source of inspiration for the Platform's activities and to leaders from across Europe.

Using European Funds to Tackle Homelessness

Local, regional and national authorities have primary responsibility for funding measures to address homelessness. However, EU funds can play a transformative role by acting as a lever for the improvement of policies and services. The Awards were launched in 2017 with the first edition focusing on the European Social Fund (ESF). The 2018 Awards focused on the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). This year the Awards reflect the use of the ESF, the FEAD and the European Regional Development Fund.

2020, the year in which FEANTSA launched its Ending Homelessness Awards 3rd Edition, was a milestone year as it was the last of the 2014 - 2020 financial framework. As Member States and the European Commission gear up to the 2021 - 2027 funding period, there is a fresh chance to put the relevant EU funds to work to improve the way homelessness is addressed in Europe.

Find out more about how EU funds can be used in the fight against homelessness:

European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion: Funding
European Commission, European Social Fund Plus
EU Regional Policy webpage: here you can access programming documents, managing authority contact details and project examples.

The Ending Homelessness Awards: present and past

The winning projects have been selected by an independent jury of experts representing stakeholders from civil society, EU institutions and national/regional Managing Authorities. They will be promoted at EU-level, including in a dedicated Handbook on Ending Homelessness and accompanying video which will be published on the day of the awards and in the week following. You can find the Handbooks and videos from past years' awards below:

We hope the awards will inspire more and better take-up of the European funds for tackling homelessness and contribute to building a post-2020 framework that really delivers on the commitment to leave no one behind by striving to end homelessness.