Jakub Wilczek on the Polish perspective in the European debate on the future of homelessness policy

“With the right to housing for all – ending homelessness is possible!”

During his keynote speech at the FEANTSA Forum 2026 in Warsaw, Jakub Wilczek highlighted the growing importance of Housing First and housing-led approaches in the European debate on homelessness policy.

Using the story of “Andrzej” — a man who has spent more than a decade moving through shelters, services and support programmes without ever accessing stable housing — Jakub Wilczek questioned whether current systems are truly succeeding in ending homelessness, or merely managing it. He argued that across Europe, there has been an important shift away from emergency responses and towards policies focused on ending homelessness through access to housing.

A central message of the speech was that lasting exits from homelessness begin with housing. Jakub Wilczek emphasised that approaches such as Housing First have fundamentally changed the understanding of effective homelessness policy by reversing traditional assumptions: rather than requiring people to become “housing ready”, Housing First provides stable housing first and then offers the support needed to sustain it.

He also pointed to increasing recognition at EU level that housing is a fundamental right and a prerequisite for human dignity. Recent European initiatives, including the European Affordable Housing Plan and the upcoming EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, increasingly promote housing-led approaches, prevention measures and integrated support systems combining housing, health and social services.

Highlighting the Polish experience, Jakub Wilczek highlighted the development of Housing First pilot programmes in Gdańsk, Warsaw and Wrocław, launched in 2020 with support from European funding. Although initially small-scale, the programmes demonstrated strong results, with participants maintaining their housing and improving their health and social wellbeing. Importantly, several programmes continued after EU funding ended, with local authorities taking over financial support.

At the same time, Jakub Wilczek stressed that Housing First in Poland is still too often treated as a pilot project or good practice rather than a national standard. He argued that housing-led and Housing First approaches must become the foundation of homelessness policy across Europe rather than remaining isolated initiatives.

The speech also strongly emphasised prevention, warning that homelessness often begins long before people enter shelters, through housing instability, rent arrears, institutional transitions or domestic violence. According to Jakub Wilczek, homelessness policy must therefore move beyond crisis intervention and focus more strongly on preventing the loss of housing in the first place.

Concluding his speech, Jakub Wilczek called for stronger implementation of existing European commitments and for homelessness policy to be grounded in the right to housing. He argued that Europe already has the knowledge and tools needed to end homelessness but the remaining challenge is whether governments are willing to implement housing-led solutions at the scale required.