Homelessness in a European city

An underpass in Ljubljana - homelessness is everywhere

by Mateja Mihinjac

We’ve reported on the issues of homelessness several times although rarely from the European perspective. While not a new phenomenon, it appears the problem of homelessness – especially the most visible part that includes what Europeans call “rough sleepers” – is becoming more prevalent in the capital city of Ljubljana. At least this is the perception of many living here in Slovenia's capital city where it is now common to see a rough sleeper on the main city streets and the underpasses.   

THE PREVALENCE OF THE PROBLEM

Statistics on homelessness in Slovenia are currently lacking. The researchers Filipovič Hrast and colleagues report that the Statistical Office of Slovenia shows an almost triple increase in individuals without a home (from 4.252 in 2011 to 11.524 in 2021). In the same period, the number of individuals registered with the Centre for Social Work doubled from 1.426 to 3.085. 

The residents of Ljubljana increasingly report feeling less safe due to the perceived increase in homelessness and they have been contacting the Mayor’s office pleading to urgently address the issue.

They’ve been calling for the city to provide affordable housing for the homeless and the city is planning to respond by building a new shelter. Is that enough? Could we do better?

POOR DATA

One of the issues in dealing with homelessness in Slovenia is a lack of systematic monitoring of homelessness patterns and a poor understanding of the many pathways that lead to individuals losing a roof over their heads.

While the public often generalises and argues that homelessness is caused by personal choice, research shows there are many underlying reasons. This includes unaffordable housing, mental illness, domestic violence, substance abuse, loss of a job, financial difficulties, and others.

There is also no national strategy on homelessness. The Resolution on the National Social Protection Programme partially addresses the issue, mainly through social assistance programs. But that lacks a holistic approach to identify workable solutions that are not so limited.  

Signs of the unhoused are everywhere

WHAT NEXT?

Homelessness is becoming a major issue across Europe, possibly triggered by immigration waves from wars in Ukraine and elsewhere. 

Slovenia is not exempt from this trajectory. It is refreshing to see that the non-governmental humanitarian organisation Kralji ulice (“Kings of the Streets”) already adopted a Housing First approach in 2008. This program has been demonstrated the  most effective in addressing homelessness. It is also recommended in a White Paper of the International CPTED Association.

Finland has extensive Housing First programs and special housing facilities, such as the Kenttätie homeless shelter and a service center in Myllytulli, Oulu - photo Creative Commons Wiki

Building yet more shelters reminds me of another limited strategy – responding to crime by building more prisons. In both cases, nothing is truly fixed. It is a band-aid approach that does not address the underlying issues. 

A better strategy is to use the method we apply in SafeGrowth - work in partnership across various sectors. It is far more effective for the government to partner with non-governmental organisations, based on a comprehensive national strategy. That is the path to a much more effective response. 

Blood Alley and SafeGrowth in San Jose

SafeGrowth San Jose 2024

by Gregory Saville 

This past winter and spring, members of the SafeGrowth network visited San Jose, California in Silicon Valley and taught residents how to apply our safety planning method to roadway safety. Why roadway safety? 

San Jose is the largest city in the San Francisco Bay area with over 900,000 residents. It is the nexus of Silicon Valley with shiny architecture and high-tech HQs. Yet San Jose has a dark veil hiding a terrible truth - a deadly plague of traffic fatalities, especially pedestrians and bicyclists struck by cars. 

In 2022, 65 people died from traffic fatalities, over half of whom were pedestrians. On one single roadway alone – a ten-mile section of Monterey Road, known by locals as “Blood Alley” – 42 people were either killed or injured in traffic crashes between 2019 to 2022. 

We were hosted by the AARP California state office (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), with some exceptional leaders at the helm: State Director, Nancy McPherson, and Ameen Khan, Associate State Director for the San Jose AARP office.  

OUR TASK

Our task was to provide resident teams with the organizational, diagnostic, and intervention skills to identify key fatality hotspots along Monterey Road and prepare some strategy reports that offer a template for other portions of San Jose. 

Does roadway safety seem like a stretch for SafeGrowth? Not really, when you realize safety is an integral part of livability.

The San Jose SafeGrowth reports offer citizen-led suggestions for improved roadway safety. At the final course presentations, one team presented their model of what safer intersections might look like.

LIVABILITY

SafeGrowth is based on livability. As Mateja has written in this blog, livability can be tenuous if not clearly spelled out. Definitions matter! 

In SafeGrowth we include all the major factors that help everyday citizens remain safe, healthy, prosperous, and happy. Livability includes diverse, interesting, comfortable, and exciting neighborhoods for those who live there and for those who visit. In our publications on livability, we propose a neighborhood spectrum from lower/basic levels to upper/advanced levels. San Jose has excellent employment, downtown markets, a historic district, and terrific architecture including the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Center for the Performing Arts.

San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, (2023, July 27). Creative Commons license in Wikipedia

But within all those basic livability ingredients, one of the most crucial is safe walking and transportation. If people are unsafe walking and if walkability carries such risks, livability in San Jose suffers. Latter-day planning theories in North America often talk about walkability. Even in cities where cars dominate and roadways rule, we know the importance of safe roadways, sidewalks, trails, and biking pathways. Thus, walking and walkability are the very core of livability. 

SAFEGROWTH IN SAN JOSE 

The results of the San Jose SafeGrowth teams were spectacular. In the final workshop, they presented their project work to the community, police, traffic officials, and others. Since then they presented it to the Seven Trees Community Association, a neighborhood along Monterey Road. They also presented copies of their reports to the City Council District’s chief of staff and requested meetings to brief council members.

This work led to the exciting story described in the AARP newsletter article “A San Jose Community Driven Project to Improve Road Safety & Community Livability”.

Two of the SafeGrowth team project reports are available online, including the Monterey Road and Curtner Avenue report and the Monterey Road and Branham Lane report.

The City of San Jose has been awarded a $2 million federal grant to improve roadway safety along Monterey Road. This AARP initiative and the San Jose SafeGrowth team projects are excellent examples of local advocacy – a defining characteristic of SafeGrowth. The collaboration between AARP volunteers and San Jose residents also demonstrates what a livable community can do to empower people to improve the quality of their lives and, in this case, to save precious lives in the future.