Summary

The ’Help the Homeless’ Erasmus+ youth exchange took place in Birmingham, UK between the 5th - 13th October 2019.

‘Help the Homeless’ allowed participants from across Europe to meet, learn about and discuss the topic of homelessness. With events such as the global financial crisis harming careers and economic livelihoods, it is necessary for people to help those affected by it most. In England alone, the number of homeless people increased by 26% in just four years. Furthermore, certain groups are more subjected to being homeless but are often left unrecorded, for example Roma and immigrant communities in Bulgaria (https://homelessworldcup.org/homelessness-statistics/). This therefore demonstrates the wider issue, in which the causes of people becoming homeless must be further analysed if solutions are to work. Each of our previous youth exchanges related to ‘Help the Homeless’, as we educated participants about issues of discrimination in the workplace (which may prevent people from getting jobs and so able to afford a house), stigma and hate speech (towards homeless individuals, thus resulting in mental health obstacles), and also how homelessness can affect the genders differently (for example, women are more likely to be trafficked: https://uk.blastingnews.com/opinion/2018/04/addressing-interlinked-social-problems-human-trafficking-and-homelessness-002493913.html). By providing participants with relevant knowledge, skills and competences, we encouraged them to combat the prevalence of homelessness and help to improve the livelihoods of those who need it the most. This may be in the form of volunteering at local soup kitchens, running campaigns to make their government more sympathetic to the issue, or even implementing their own Erasmus+ projects around homelessness.

PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To fully understand what homelessness is and the various causes of homelessness;

2. To identify the consequences of homelessness for individuals, the local community, national governments and on an international scale;

3. To analyse existing homelessness strategies which aim to assist with and combat homelessness;

4. To develop ideas around how participants could take action to combat homelessness both during and after the exchange;

5. To promote and support intercultural understanding and acceptance between participants, allowing them to pass this skill on beyond the youth exchange.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

• Young people aged 16-26 years old (no upper limit for each country’s group leader);

• An equal number of both genders; •A combination of young people who do not know much about homelessness but want to find out more, and those who have extensive knowledge surrounding the topic;

• Youths from a range of cultural, religious and faith backgrounds;

• Individuals from socially/economically/geographically disadvantaged backgrounds who may otherwise lack opportunities to access the Erasmus+ programme;

• Youths with minimal exposure to the Erasmus+ programme;

• Youths with at least a working knowledge of English.

We used methods that had worked well in previous projects. These included icebreakers, energisers, teamwork, role-playing, debates and discussions. The project followed a logical order, including learning what homelessness is, its causes and consequences, before finding out how they can make a positive change through campaigns and strategies. Throughout the project we encouraged the development of follow-up activities by participants, during which they used the knowledge, skills and competencies gained during the exchange. By utilising the Youthpass certificate, participants gained skills relating to self-evaluation and personal development. This was made possible by the thirty minutes set aside each day for all project stakeholders to discuss their opinions towards the exchange. The learning outcomes and associated benefits were posted on the social media pages/websites of Hidden Voices and each of its partners, with intentions for more and more young people to enrol in the Erasmus+ programme (especially as the UK is currently underrepresented). Our relationships with other organisations across Europe have developed further, and we have encouraged them to help participants continue with follow-up activities, including the implementation of their own Erasmus+ projects around homelessnessThe ’Help the Homeless’ Erasmus+ youth exchange took place in Birmingham, UK between the 5th - 13th October 2019.

‘Help the Homeless’ allowed participants from across Europe to meet, learn about and discuss the topic of homelessness. With events such as the global financial crisis harming careers and economic livelihoods, it is necessary for people to help those affected by it most. In England alone, the number of homeless people increased by 26% in just four years. Furthermore, certain groups are more subjected to being homeless but are often left unrecorded, for example Roma and immigrant communities in Bulgaria (https://homelessworldcup.org/homelessness-statistics/). This therefore demonstrates the wider issue, in which the causes of people becoming homeless must be further analysed if solutions are to work. Each of our previous youth exchanges related to ‘Help the Homeless’, as we educated participants about issues of discrimination in the workplace (which may prevent people from getting jobs and so able to afford a house), stigma and hate speech (towards homeless individuals, thus resulting in mental health obstacles), and also how homelessness can affect the genders differently (for example, women are more likely to be trafficked: https://uk.blastingnews.com/opinion/2018/04/addressing-interlinked-social-problems-human-trafficking-and-homelessness-002493913.html). By providing participants with relevant knowledge, skills and competences, we encouraged them to combat the prevalence of homelessness and help to improve the livelihoods of those who need it the most. This may be in the form of volunteering at local soup kitchens, running campaigns to make their government more sympathetic to the issue, or even implementing their own Erasmus+ projects around homelessness.

PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To fully understand what homelessness is and the various causes of homelessness;

2. To identify the consequences of homelessness for individuals, the local community, national governments and on an international scale;

3. To analyse existing homelessness strategies which aim to assist with and combat homelessness;

4. To develop ideas around how participants could take action to combat homelessness both during and after the exchange;

   
   

5. To promote and support intercultural understanding and acceptance between participants, allowing them to pass this skill on beyond the youth exchange.

PARTICIPANT PROFILE

• Young people aged 16-26 years old (no upper limit for each country’s group leader);

• An equal number of both genders;

• A combination of young people who do not know much about homelessness but want to find out more, and those who have extensive knowledge surrounding the topic;

• Youths from a range of cultural, religious and faith backgrounds;

• Individuals from socially/economically/geographically disadvantaged backgrounds who may otherwise lack opportunities to access the Erasmus+ programme;

• Youths with minimal exposure to the Erasmus+ programme;

• Youths with at least a working knowledge of English.

We used methods that had worked well in previous projects. These included icebreakers, energisers, teamwork, role-playing, debates and discussions. The project followed a logical order, including learning what homelessness is, its causes and consequences, before finding out how they can make a positive change through campaigns and strategies. Throughout the project we encouraged the development of follow-up activities by participants, during which they used the knowledge, skills and competencies gained during the exchange. By utilising the Youthpass certificate, participants gained skills relating to self-evaluation and personal development. This was made possible by the thirty minutes set aside each day for all project stakeholders to discuss their opinions towards the exchange.

The learning outcomes and associated benefits were posted on the social media pages/websites of Hidden Voices and each of its partners, with intentions for more and more young people to enrol in the Erasmus+ programme (especially as the UK is currently underrepresented). Our relationships with other organisations across Europe have developed further, and we have encouraged them to help participants continue with follow-up activities, including the implementation of their own Erasmus+ projects around homelessness