Written declaration calling to end Homelessness!

Lots of homeless people have a disability. They may have become homeless because they were unable to take part in society due to their disability. Or they may have developed a disability because of the difficult way of life being homeless. This problem is very worrying because if someone has a disability and no home their life is even harder. Harder than it should be. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (in short UNCRPD) states that all persons with disabilities should be involved in society. Inclusion Europe is supporting FEANTSA’s intiative. They are trying to get members of the European Parliament to sign a document, which says they want action to end homelessness. There are things we can do to improve the situation in Europe. If you would like to show your support you can post a tweet and include the hashtag #mygoalisahome You can also search for the #mygoalisahome hashtag to see what others are saying about this.

The written declaration calls on the European Commission to develop a concrete action plan to fight homelessness. The homeless population in Europe is growing and the effects impact diverse types of people including, but not limited to, those with disabilities.

Often persons with disabilities experience social exclusion and are therefore at an increased risk of falling into a situation of homelessness. The UN estimates that 30% of the homeless population has a disability. Once homeless, a person is 2.5 times more likely to develop a disability, due to their stressful and dangerous living situation. This contributes to a considerably disproportionate and a worrying over-representation of people living with a disability without a home.

Article 19 and 28 of United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (UN CRPD) outline the rights of people with a disability to live independently in the community with adequate support and social protection to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Persons with disabilities experiencing homelessness face dual social exclusion and are therefore twice as vulnerable to having their human rights violated.

EU action on homelessness has a consequential benefit for the rights of persons with disabilities. We must work to protect and support those already experiencing homelessness and prevent more people from falling into this situation.

Homelessness can be ended.

Join the discussion and show your support for this campaign by tweeting #mygoalisahome