• EVALUATION: Westminster VAWG Housing First Service Second Year Evaluation

    This evaluation highlights the key outcomes, challenges, and successes of the second year of the Westminster VAWG Housing First project. It covers the period of September 2020 – September...

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    Research

  • 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.

  • _dsc6224_schwemberger_patrick.jpg__600x0_q95_crop-True_subsampling-2_upscale-True - Patrick Schwemberger

    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.  

  • Leah Watkins

    Leah Watkins

    Housing Choices WA

    Country: Australia

    Languages: English

    Leah has over 30 years of experience in the homelessness and housing sector ranging from frontline outreach to managing services and coordinating interagency collaboration projects. She also spent 10 years working as a consultant undertaking evaluations, service model designs and action research. She was one of the first Australian participants to the Housing First Train-the-Trainer and co-authored the Housing First Principles for Australia which were endorsed by Homelessness Australia in 2020. From this, she helped design and deliver the Housing First train the trainer course for Australia and continues to deliver Housing First training both in person and online. Leah’s superpower is delivering online training that is interactive and highly participatory.

  • National Housing First Implementation Evaluation Findings Prepared for the National Housing First Implementation Committee

    “Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland is the Government’s plan for addressing housing needs and homelessness through the year 2030. For people experiencing homelessness, the...

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    Research

  • PHOTO-2022-09-18-12-41-38 - Raphael Bouloudnine WFX

    Raphael Bouloudnine

    WFX

    Country: France

    Languages: EnglishFrench

    Raphael is a psychiatrist with a degree in public health from NOVA university. After 10 years in Un chez soi d'abord (French Housing First), he's worked in working first and develops training in recovery oriented practice. His year as an assistant visiting professor at Yale University as part of the Program For Recovery and Community Health (PRCH) was an opportunity to visit several Housing First programmes in the US. He's currently the national coordinator for Un chez soi d'abord France at the DIHAL.

  • EVALUATION: Housing First Scotland – Pathfinder

    Housing First Scotland’s Pathfinder programme, which ran from April 2019-March 2022, was independently evaluated by I-SPHERE in partnership with ICF this year. Some interesting findings from the evaluation include: Tenancy...

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    Research

  • IMG_20210515_102559695_BURST001 (3) - De Bolle Geert

    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.