Subject : Change Management

I am working at the advocacy level on Housing First in France. In my work for Fondation Abbé Pierre, which is known for its expertise in the evaluation of public policy, I have conducted an evaluation of the national Housing First programme.  

Magdalena is a therapist, psychologist, sexual educator, and mediator. She worked as a frontline support worker and then as head of the Housing First implementation team in Warsaw. She both provided support on a daily basis and in crisis situations for tenants with ACT approach and organised coordination of the stakeholders. As a psychotraumatologist she also provides support in a field of sexual education and leadership in family based on Jesper Juul’s values. Her core is nonviolent communication, personal responsibility, and respect for the integrity of the individual.

"For me, Housing First is about dignity. By offering people back a home that is really theirs, you give them so much more: freedom and autonomy, life chances, future, happiness"

Juha has been working for 10 years in the field of homelessness. He started as a frontline support worker in 2010 for the Finnish Youth housing association services (NALPA) before becoming Housing First service manager and then CEO of NALPA. He joined Y-Säätiö in 2018 as coordinator for the National Housing First Development Network and became the Lead Coordinator in 2020 and is currently head of international affairs at Y-Säätiö. As part of his role at the Network, Juha organises training courses at national level, and is working on developing the Housing First model together with dozens of NGO’s and cities.

Peter started to work in youth and young adult care in the nineties, being focused on youth at risk of becoming homeless or young adults being homeless. At the time some of his older colleagues advised him to lower his expectations as to what could be achieved. He continued working, and 10 years later, caught himself being that older colleague telling the younger ones to 'not put their hopes up too high'. After he discovered the Housing First approach, he learnt that his initial hopes of achieving positive outcomes for homeless youth could be realised, and became a Housing First trainer.

Jo is the Head of National Practice Development at Homeless Link and lead of Housing First England since 2016 and support Housing First across the country, working with local government and service providers to develop new services and oversee a programme of policy influencing, research and practice development. Jo is an experienced trainer, facilitator, and public speaker with several years’ experience of working directly with people with multiple and complex needs including people entrenched in street homelessness. In addition to being a Housing First Trainer, Jo was trained as a consultant in the system-psychodynamics approach to organisational development at the renowned Tavistock Clinic.