• 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!

  • Transforming Homelessness Solutions in Spain: Community-Centred Approaches, Social Policy Transformation, and Deinstitutionalisation

    The opportunity presented by the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience fund in the framework of the Next Generation EU Funds included among its lever policies an initiative called a...

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    Blog

  • 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.

  • _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.

  • 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.

  • Looking to the Future – Juha Kaakinen on the importance of perspective when developing Housing First

    “After over 9 years as a CEO of Y-Foundation I have already handed all responsibilities over to my successor Teija Ojankoski and I’m in the happy process of transition...

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    Blog

  • IMG_20200109_184507-Rémi-Dekoninck-scaled-3.jpg

    Rémi Dekoninck

    Diogènes (Station Logement)/ Projet Lama

    Country: Belgium

    Languages: French

    Rémi has 20 years of experience working in the social sector, with experience in a wide range of social and homeless services, including:

    • Social Worker since 2000
    • Social Housing 2000
    • First Line social services 2002-2005
    • Family Planning 2005-2016
    • Therapeutical community 2013-2018
    • Social school teacher 2016-2018
    • Health services for drug addictions 2018- now
    • Housing First worker 2018-now
    • Housing First Trainer: 2019- now

  • Joanne-Prestidge_medium-Joanne-Prestidge-2.jpg

    Jo Prestidge

    Homeless Link

    Country: UK

    Languages: English

    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.

  • Cole_Pilvi_MG_6312_edit_kork1600-Pilvl-Cole-2.jpg

    Pilvi Azeem

    Y-Säätiö/Y-Foundation

    Country: Finland

    Languages: EnglishFinnish

    Pilvi started working on the homelessness field in Scotland in 2005 as an assertive outreach worker. After returning to Finland, Pilvi went to work with Helsinki Deaconess Institute in one of their newly opened Housing First units, providing supported living for long-term homeless people. She then had the opportunity to be part of establishing a new Housing First community-based supported housing unit for long- term homeless people. There she ensures that workers were familiar with Housing First principles and that the support work they did was in line with the Housing First principles. Pilvi is currently working as a project coordinator for the NEA project, aiming to stop women’s homelessness with a women-specific methods, and with eight multidisciplinary sub-projects.