• Åsa

    Åsa Bäckström

    Stockholm city mission

    asa.backstrom@stadsmissionen.se

    Country: Sweden

    Languages: EnglishSwedish

    I am a sociologist and have worked with social work and homelessness for almost 20 years in various sectors. Now I work as a development manager at Stockholm City Mission. I went to cohort 4 and since then have trained in housing first for Sweden's city missions, mainly for municipalities in the start-up phase but also in other forms. Housing first because it works!

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    Marlene Panzenböck

    Neunerhaus - Hilfe für obdachlose Menschen

    Country: Austria

    Languages: EnglishGermanSpanish

    Marlene is a project manager and team leader at neunerhaus Housing First in Vienna and a lecturer for Housing First at the Vienna University of Applied Sciences. Marlene previously worked as a social worker with young refugees and in the education sector.

  • per train the trainers - Margherita Neri

    Margherita Neri

    Cooperativa Sociale Piazza Grande

    Country: Italy

    Languages: ItalianSpanish

    Margherita has been working for 10 years in services aimed at homeless people within third sector organizations. She has always been passionate about the issue of the right to housing and for this reason she has coordinated and worked in the Housing First program managed by the Piazza Grande Social Cooperative. In the Cooperative she has covered various roles of coordination of socio-educational projects and is currently vice president. Margherita collaborates with Fio.PSD in the context of sector specific operators training, the training focusing especially on Housing First projects, social and health integration, and community work.

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    Patrick Schwemberger

    Verein dowas

    Country: Austria

    Languages: German

    After completing compulsory school and an apprenticeship in the metal industry, I studied "social work/social management" at the Vienna University of Applied Sciences on the second educational path. I was able to gain my first practical experience in helping the homeless during my studies in the context of "assisted living" in an internship. After completing my studies in 2011, I stayed in the field of helping the homeless and worked in the areas of "consulting" and "street work" for a little over two years, where I gained my first experience. After a one-year stay abroad, I then switched to the area of "partially assisted living/outpatient assisted living" in the same field of work, in which I have been working since 2014. I completed the Housing First Europe Hub's TTT - Train The Trainer - training in 2022.

  • Profiili - Asunto Ensin Verkostokehittäjät

    Mia Saarela

    Y-Säätiö

    Country: Finland

    Languages: EnglishFinnish

    Mia is Coordinator for the National Housing First Development Network in Finland. She is passionate about eradicating homelessness and developing new ways of approaching housing-related issues. Mia has a backround in youth housing, social services & child protection services and is also experience in networking, providing training and a platform for learning about Housing First and housing related social work.

  • Pauline Portefaix

    Pauline Portefaix

    Fondation Abbé Pierre

    Country: France

    Languages: EnglishFrench

    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

    Magdalena Syrówka

    Przyszłość jest dziś

    Country: Poland

    Languages: EnglishPolish

    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.

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    Geert De Bolle

    Housing First Lab

    Country: Belgium

    Languages: DutchEnglish

    "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"
      Geert has been the Dutch coordinator of the Housing First Lab since 2018. He lives in Kortrijk, is married and has three grown-up children, who are gradually leaving home. He enjoys travelling, long walks and board games. Geert is a trained social worker and had 15 years of experience within the local OCMW operation where he was responsible for the reception and guidance of homeless people. From this work, he got to know the ideas of Housing First. Later in life, he started university studies in social work at Ghent University.    

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    Melanie Schmit

    LIMOR & Housing First Netherlands

    Country: Netherlands

    Languages: DutchEnglish

    Melanie’s working life focus on people in need, and especially on the field of homelessness. She studied social work, then completed a bachelor’s degree in health care management and a study around professional coaching and leadership. She’s currently focusing on education around public affairs after having started as a social worker in a homelessness service and becoming a Housing First manager for adults and for youth. Today, Melanie works for LIMOR on scaling up, further developing, and promoting Housing First in the Northern and Western part of The Netherlands. She’s also training groups on Housing First. Melanie was one of the co-initiators of Housing First Netherland and is now its president.

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    Juha Kahila

    Y-Säätiö/Y-Foundation

    Country: Finland

    Languages: EnglishFinnish

    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.