Join this webinar to learn about different approaches to collecting data at the systems level in Housing First programs. You will hear from experts and practitioners in Canada and Europe, who will share their research, policies and practices on the following topics:

• Monitoring homelessness in Denmark in the context of the implementation of Housing First in national policy – Lars Benjaminsen
• Homelessness prevention and housing among first-time and recurrent shelter users in Canada – Ian Cooper
• Housing First evaluations in Germany – an overview – Volker Busch-Geertsema

Time: 10:00 – 11:30 AM (EDT) / 16:00 – 17:30 (CEST)

More information here

This webinar is presented by EENet, the Canadian Housing First Network and the Housing First Europe Hub and is the third in the international Housing First webinar series.

About the presenters:

Ian Cooper is the Director of Data Collection, Analysis and Results Reporting in the Homelessness Policy Directorate at Infrastructure Canada. He leads data-related activities in support of Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, and research and analysis to advance understanding of homelessness in Canada. Prior to his current position, he held various management roles in the Canadian federal public service, including at the Public Health Agency of Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Lars Benjaminsen is a senior researcher at VIVE – The Danish Center for Social Science Research. Since 2006 he is a member of the European Observatory on Homelessness (FEANTSA). He is responsible for conducting the national homelessness counts in Denmark that have been carried out every second year since 2007. He has taken part in evaluating the Housing First based Danish National Homelessness Strategy and other Housing First based programs in Denmark and has conducted various other studies on homelessness in Denmark. He has also conducted large studies on social exclusion, poverty and deprivation in Denmark.

Volker Busch-Geertsema is a sociologist and senior research fellow and board member of the Association for Social Planning and Social Research (Gesellschaft für Innovative Sozialforschung und Sozialplanung – GISS) in Bremen, Germany. Since 2009 he has been coordinator of the European Observatory on Homelessness and since 2015 he has been Honorary Professor at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh. Volker is specialised in homelessness research and has participated in a number of European Research networks on homelessness. He is author of a several books and a large number of articles on different aspects of homelessness and housing policy in Germany, Europe and beyond. He has conducted evaluations of several Housing First projects in Germany and Europe.

About the discussant:

Nick Kerman is a Scientific Associate at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. He conducts community-based mixed-methods research on interventions and services for people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. His current research focuses on safety and risk management in community health and social service settings, including Housing First programs.