ABOUT US

The Housing First Europe Hub was established in 2016 by the Y-Foundation (Finland) and FEANTSA (the European Federation of National Organisations Working with Homeless People) along with more than 15 partners.

Since then, the Hub has grown to include more than 45 organisations, cities, government ministries, housing providers and researchers from across Europe and beyond in 15 different countries.

We work in partnership with our core and associate partners to promote Housing First as the first and central response to homelessness.

The Hub’s mission is to end and prevent homelessness through a mind shift, leading to a systems’ change across Europe, based on Housing First through advocacy, training, practice, research, support, communication activities and capacity building.

We contribute to this by:

  • Promoting understanding about and providing support to scaling up of Housing First.
  • Scaling up is not about multiplying Housing First initiatives without aiming for systemic change. It requires moving from a programme/project approach to Housing First, in favour of a systems’ change whereby Housing First is the organising paradigm.
  • Providing support to newcomers to Housing First, i.e. provision of information and evidence, access to training resources and materials (online tools on the Housing First Europe Hub’s website, organisation of training programmes by Housing First Europe Hub trainers, etc.), connection through the network to knowledge and colleagues (brokerage). Support to newcomers is always in view of a systems’ change perspective (and not e.g. support just with setting up isolated Housing First projects). Existing Housing First policies/initiatives, i.e., support to the management, implementation and evaluation of Housing First.

COUNTRIES AND PARTNERS

Our greatest strength lies in the richness and diversity of our partnership, which includes NGOs, governmental organisations, housing providers, and municipalities.

This heterogeneity ensures that we bring a broad range of perspectives to the key issues we work on—such as housing solutions, tailored support for different Housing First target groups, sustainable funding, and more.

Today, the Hub unites 40 partners across 18 countries in Europe and beyond, forming a vibrant, cross-sectoral community committed to lasting change.

Please find below the list of our Partners divided per country.

THE HOUSING FIRST EUROPE HUB TEAM

Samara Jones

Coordinator

Samara Jones has worked on homelessness and social justice issues both in Europe and Canada. She is based in Brussels and is the Coordinator of the Housing First Europe Hub.  
samara.jones@housingfirsteurope.eu

Languages: DutchEnglishFrench

Laura Fritz

Partnership & Project Officer

Laura joined the Housing First Europe Hub as Partnership & Project Officer. In this role, she supports partnership engagement, coordinates key projects, and helps facilitate training and knowledge exchange across the network. She is passionate about Housing First and committed to advancing solutions to end homelessness in Europe.
laura.fritz@feantsa.org

Languages: EnglishGerman

Mercedes Hauviller

Admin & Finance Assistant

Mercedes is the Admin & Finance Officer at the Housing First Europe Hub. She streamlines invoicing and payment processing, maintains accurate financial records, oversees expense claims, and keeps day-to-day operations running smoothly. She also supports the logistical side of the Hub’s events.
mercedes.hauviller@housingfirsteurope.eu

Languages: EnglishFrenchItalianSpanish

Christianna Fontouli

Coordination & Communications Assistant

Christianna supports collaboration among Hub members and partners, as well as training and communications activities to strengthen the Hub’s visibility and engagement. She previously worked in training management and quality assurance in the health sector and volunteered with a local non-profit supporting people experiencing homelessness.

intern@housingfirsteurope.eu

Languages: EnglishGreekItalian

THE HOUSING FIRST EUROPE HUB EXECUTIVE GROUP

Freek Spinnewijn

Freek is the Director of FEANTSA (European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless). He guides FEANTSA’s strategic development and as its overall management day-to-day.

Saija Turunen

Saija Turunen is the Head of Research at Y-Foundation, Finland, where she has worked since 2017. She studied and worked in the field of social research in the UK and taught research methods at Bangor University, North Wales, where she also received her PhD in 2001. Saija co-leads the knowledge development work cluster of the Housing First Europe Hub.

Emma Byrne

Francesca Albanese

Francesca is the the Executive Director of Policy & Social Change at Crisis UK where she has worked since 2016. She is also an editorial panel member at Thinkhouse. Prior to Crisis Francesca worked at Homeless Link and Shelter.

Kate Polson

Kate is the CEO of Rock Trust, a youth homelessness charity in Scotland, and Chair of A Way Home Scotland. Rock Trust provides a range of housing and support services for young people, including Housing First for Youth and is committed to working in partnership with others and sharing learning.

Kjell Larsson

Kjell Larsson has been working as a Development director on strategic level at City mission Gothenburg and nationally for Swedish City missions since 2008, with focus on housing and homelessness. He has been working as an executive in the social field for almost 30 years. He is also in charge of the National Swedish Housing first HUB.

Melanie Schmit

Melanie is the Director of Housing First Nederland and a member of the Executive Group of the Housing First Europe Hub. A driving force behind the Housing First movement since 2014, Melanie works to transform how societies respond to homelessness. She bridges practice, policy and lived experience, advocating a radical shift toward a home for all, fostering collective action from frontline workers to politicians.