FEANTSA is the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless. It is an umbrella of not-for-profit organisations which participate in or contribute to the fight against homelessness in Europe. Established in 1989, FEANTSA represents today more than 150 organisations working with people experiencing homelessness in about 30 European countries which provide a wide range of services to people experiencing homelessness, including housing, health, employment support, social protection, rights and participation. It is the only major European network that focuses exclusively on homelessness at the European level.
Most of FEANTSA’s members are national or regional umbrella organisations of service providers that support homeless people with a wide range of services, including housing, health, employment and social support. They often work with public authorities, social housing providers and other relevant actors.
FEANTSA works closely with the EU institutions, and has consultative status at the Council of Europe and the United Nations. It receives financial support from the European Commission.
FEANTSA is committed to:
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Engage in constant dialogue with the European institutions and national and regional governments to promote the development and implementation of effective measures to fight homelessness.
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Conduct and promote research and data collection to better understand the nature, extent, causes of, and solutions to, homelessness.
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Promote and facilitate the exchange of information, experience and good practice between FEANTSA’s member organisations and relevant stakeholders with a view to improve policies and practices addressing homelessness.
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Raise public awareness about the complexity of homelessness and the multidimensional nature of the problems faced by homeless people.
To this end FEANTSA lobbies decision makers, commissions research, writes tools and toolkits, prepares regular policy documents and organises European seminars and conferences, and transnational exchange initiatives. In addition, FEANTSA runs a number of working groups, in which members discuss and analyse issues such as housing, housing rights, employment, health and social protection, data collection (statistics and indicators) and participation.
More information is available at : http://www.feantsa.org