Committed collaboration to address homelessness in the Netherlands

Context: In the Netherlands, the number of homeless people increased from 17.800 in 2009 to 39.300 in 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its socioeconomic consequences, the needs of marginalized people have increased worldwide in terms of access to services and relevant information. In the Netherlands, along with the Red Cross, other humanitarian organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Rainbow Foundation, and the Foundation for the Homeless are already providing people in need with primary needs such as food and housing, but also with healthcare and legal support. Cooperation between... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Flora Argyrou
Josefine Hirschler
Filip Karan
Raika Kugel
Elena Romancenca
Jessica Neicun
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Reihe/Periodikum: South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (2021)
Verlag/Hrsg.: Jacobs Verlag
Schlagwörter: collaborative network / cross-sectoral collaboration / service coordination / homeless / Public aspects of medicine / RA1-1270
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26803253
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.11576/seejph-4688

Context: In the Netherlands, the number of homeless people increased from 17.800 in 2009 to 39.300 in 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its socioeconomic consequences, the needs of marginalized people have increased worldwide in terms of access to services and relevant information. In the Netherlands, along with the Red Cross, other humanitarian organizations such as the Salvation Army, the Rainbow Foundation, and the Foundation for the Homeless are already providing people in need with primary needs such as food and housing, but also with healthcare and legal support. Cooperation between services for the homeless is also gaining attention. However, collaboration between relevant stakeholders is still insufficient and urges to be expanded. Moreover, centralized monitoring is challenging as different services are provided (shelters, assisted housing) by different stakeholders and there is no central data collection system or pre-defined indicators. Recent, comprehensive data on homelessness figures are needed to understand the needs and how these may have changed, given the exacerbated consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on those in socioeconomic vulnerability, in order safeguard the health, safety and dignity of homeless people. Policy Options: To address the needs of homeless people, innovation is needed to overcome sectoral boundaries and to work collaboratively. At the level of service provision, as shown by some successful global experiences (e.g. Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS), Housing First, Les Infirmières de la Rue), new partnerships and collaborations are a central dimension of many effective innovative initiatives relating to homelessness. The target of collaboration is to improve health and social outcomes in the most appropriate and efficient manner. To improve case management at the local level, in Canada, the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) provides a single platform for homogeneous data collection on clients among service providers that ...