• IMG-20241129-WA0002 - Herbie Cooper

    Herbie Cooper

    Crisis UK

    herbie.cooper@crisis.org.uk

    Country: UK

    Languages: English

    I completed my TTT in cohort 4 whilst working as manager of a Housing First team in Newcastle. We set this team up from scratch which included a lot of training and influencing. Learning and reflection is an important part of our model and I deliver a lot of informal training. Before working in Housing First I worked in a youth participation project which also influenced my training style.

  • 20231113_173252 - Rick de Jong

    Rick de Jong

    Housing First Nederland

    rick@housingfirstnederland.nl

    Country: Netherlands

    Languages: DutchEnglish

    I work on the streets of Rotterdam for almost 20 years, as social worker and in management positions. I am team leader of a multidisciplinary team of workers in Rotterdam. I am a Housing First trainer since 2022. I design and deliver training for landlords, municipalities and NGO's.

  • Skärmbild 2025-03-28 160534

    Cara Gibbons

    Focus Ireland

    Cara.Gibbons@focusireland.ie

    Country: Ireland

    Languages: English

    Cara has worked with homeless families, single adults, and children across Focus Ireland’s various housing services in Focus Ireland for over 20 years. Now on the Practice Development team her role involves policy development and supporting the design of a psychological environment based on Housing First and trauma informed philosophies. Cara’s training methodology is based on Freire’s approach emphasising dialogue, critical thinking and social Justice. Cara delivers training on Housing First, trauma and addiction, harm reduction, self-care for staff. Cara has an MA in Social Justice & Public Policy and a Post Grad Cert in Trauma Studies. When not working Cara likes rock climbing and being outside. Cara is currently the lead trainer on the Housing First Europe Hub’s Train-the-Trainer programme.

  • 20231004_105201 - Alex Smith

    Alex Smith

    Homeless Link

    alex.smith@homelesslink.org.uk

    Country: UK

    Languages: English

    Alex has worked with Homeless Link since 2019, leading on the Housing First England project. Alex Supports Housing First teams across the UK through training, good practice guidance and communities of practice, as well as working across research, policy and campaigns to advocate for the scaling up of Housing First in England. Alex completed the Train the Trainer Housing First training in 2019/2020 and has since developed and delivered training for Housing First practitioners and managers. Alex has a particular interest in fidelity to the Housing First principles, having developed the Staying on Track fidelity assurance framework in 2024.

  • Teammiddag Housing First Nederland

    Anke Jansen

    Housing First Nederland

    anke@housingfirstnederland.nl

    Country: Netherlands

    Languages: DutchEnglish

    Anke Jansen is Co-founder of Housing First Nederland and has a carrier in consultancy, healthcare and human rights. The last 15 years, she started several Housing First projects and developed herself as an expert in ending homelessness on both national and local level with the principles of Housing First. She loves to make impact to create a human world for all.

  • Kārlis - Kārlis Lakševics

    Kārlis Lakševics

    University of Latvia; Green Liberty

    karlis.laksevics@lu.lv

    Country: Latvia

    Languages: EnglishLatvian

    I am a researcher, consultant and learning facilitator in housing and environmental fields. I was the researcher-evaluator of the Housing First pilot project in Latvia and have led several multi-stakeholder design workshops on Housing First and social worker trainings. In the Hub, I was part of the TTT Cohort 5. While primarily a researcher, I have a rich experience in leading formal and informal, face-to-face and online workshops and trainings spanning from policy to skills development. I draw my content and methods from rigorous policy and academic literature analysis, critical pedagogy, embodied learning, and design anthropology.

  • 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!

  • Housing First 2022

    Dagmara Lutoslawska

    Housing First Berlin

    Country: Germany

    Languages: EnglishGerman

    Dagmara is a psychologist and has been working with people with mental illness for more than 10 years at low thresholds, with a focus on recovery and empowerment. In 2019, she started offering psychological support to homeless people at Berlin Zoo Station and subsequently at Housing First Berlin. Her focus is on the link to the health care system and the implementation of trauma-sensitive work in a multi-professional team. As a Housing First trainer, Dagmara shares her expertise on recovery and trauma.

  • Sarah Edwards

    Sarah Edwards

    Crisis

    Country: UK

    Languages: English

    I am currently a Team Leader of a London-Wide Housing First Service (Crisis UK). I have over 10 years experience working in the homelessness sector, predominately in Housing First Services. I'm a keen advocate for systems change and sharing learning and best practice.

  • 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.