Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-13-Speech-2-695-000"
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"en.20110913.45.2-695-000"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, finally, a debate is being held in this House on the situation of homeless people! I should like to begin by paying tribute to all the associations in the community that work all year round to help the most vulnerable people among us, the homeless.
The time for communication, false political promises and campaign slogans, as we see in certain States, is now past. That is why, following the European Consensus Conference on Homelessness, Parliament is calling on you to implement an integrated strategy aimed at resolving the problem of homelessness by 2020, based on the work that has already been carried out.
This strategy should focus on five major objectives: firstly, preventing homelessness; secondly, reducing its duration; thirdly, targeting the most severe types of homelessness; fourthly, improving the quality of services for homeless people; and finally, providing a sufficient amount of affordable housing.
This strategy must be coordinated with national and regional strategies. The results achieved with regard to the indicators developed jointly at European level must be regularly reviewed. Emphasis must be placed on social innovation, in particular, measures aimed at making housing the first step on the path towards social reintegration. Lastly, adequate funding must be guaranteed at both European and national level.
Commissioner, all talk aside, this is an emergency. Action is needed now. This is a question of political will: people do not have to be made homeless. Let us not wait until winter to remember that people die on the streets all year round. It is possible to put a stop to homelessness, and I think that the European Parliament is showing the way.
Not having a home to call one’s own is a serious violation of fundamental rights and human dignity. It is the most visible and the saddest link in the chain of poor housing. Above all, it is an unacceptable form of injustice. It is crucial to understand why people end up on the streets, so that proper preventive policies can be put in place. Rather than looking for ways of getting these people off the streets, it is much easier not to plunge them into homelessness in the first place.
When are we going to put a stop to tenant eviction? When are we going to stop property speculation? When will we finally realise that rising poverty and insecurity lead to exclusion?
The face of homelessness has changed; the image of the bohemian down-and-out belongs in the past. The reality today is much more complex and much harsher. It is increasingly young people, women, families – in particular migrants – and even poor workers who are without a home.
There are many types of homelessness. Of course, there are the homeless people that one sees on the floor in the street, in winter, under cardboard boxes, or in tents in public parks, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Millions of people live in emergency hostels, in temporary housing or with friends or family; they may even sleep in cars or in insalubrious hotels.
Faced with an emergency situation that is becoming worse by the day, the associations are constantly sounding the alarm. However, governments come and go, and the scandalous failure to address the situation continues.
It is high time the Member States faced up to their responsibilities. It is high time we put a stop to this shameful situation. Europe must strive to help the Member States establish fundamental values and long-term solutions to this situation, because our main duty is to protect the weakest among us.
In the light of this unacceptable situation, we cannot continue to look the other way, in the same way as people avoid looking at homeless people on the street. What is worse, homeless people are expelled from town centres to the outskirts, far from the stares of businessmen and tourists. However, just because they are out of sight, it does not mean they do not exist! There is no point in hiding the problem; it needs to be resolved today.
In one country, which you know well, Commissioner, homeless people are quite simply regarded as criminals. They are forbidden from sleeping on the streets, and are fined if they do, and the police hunt them down as far as underground stations or railway stations, despite the fact that there are no appropriate services in place to accommodate them."@en1
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