7
Feb
2024
Watch
Commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Abbé Pierre's appeal on addressing homelessness in the context of persisting poverty and social exclusion (debate)
Mr President! It is a tragedy that 70 years after Abbé Pierre made his appeal, we are still here talking about homelessness in Europe. On Islands Brygge there is a man who lives in a tunnel. At the “Porte de Namur” metro station in Brussels, there is a woman who has lived there for the last few years. At the cathedral here in Strasbourg, there is a woman living in a gate, people who have no choice but to live on the street. They need a home adapted to their needs, and when they have a roof over their heads, we can help them with their other problems: alcohol, anxiety, drug addiction, violence and social coercion. People living on the streets – yes, our social systems have failed. We have to help these people, and if we want to, we can. Member States and cities should learn from the best experiences. It started with housing. So it should not be dependent on social organizations or our charity when we meet people on the street. Thank you to the Commission for their coordination, exchange of experience and leadership with a focus on ‘housing first’ or ‘starting with housing’. All Member States should ensure access to good housing for all. Housing should not be a tax-free investment for the most privileged, nor can we just build ourselves out of the problem. One possibility is to ensure that there is a residence obligation so that housing is not empty. But we must ensure that everyone in Europe has access to good and stable housing in all our societies. We cannot live with the fact that our young people, our elderly, our mentally ill live on the streets and do not have the opportunity to deal with their problems because they do not have stability in their lives.