Exploring Homelessness and Pathways to Social Inclusion: A Comparative Study of Contexts and Challenges in Swiss and Croatian Cities

Abstract

Homelessness is an extreme manifestation of poverty which reduces a person’s productive potential and leads to social exclusion (European Commission 2013: 5). As homelessness has been forecasted to be on the increase throughout Europe (Serme-Morin 2017), FEANTSA, the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless reports that these alarming trends require immediate action as European countries are facing a homelessness and a housing exclusion “crisis” (FEANTSA et al. 2017). However, very little data is available on homelessness: both on the number of homeless people in Europe and about homeless people’s daily experiences and coping strategies. This makes strategies of inclusion insecure and recommendations for their change unstable. The proposed qualitative study seeks to break new ground in social research on homelessness by delivering a better understanding of the dimensions and impact of exclusion on people who are homeless in cities of Switzerland and Croatia.