TrainHouse - Training for Housing Support Workers
The Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Project “TrainHouse” unites organizations working with homeless people in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Spain and the United Kingdom. The project aims to develop training materials to be used by professional staff, peer support workers and volunteers in supporting homeless people on their way to independent housing.
Project partners are Arrels (ES), Budapest Methodological Centre of Social Policy and Its Institutions (BMSZKI, HU), Menhely (HU), Platforma pro socialní bydlení (CZ), St. Mungo’s (UK) and Vvary (FI).
Partners have gathered to share expertise on supporting homeless people into housing.
During the two-year partnership (December 2016 – December 2018) the project aims to:
- Exchange good practices on supporting homeless people into housing,
- Develop three Guides for housing support, for three slightly different target groups: professional staff, peer support workers and volunteers.
These will be developed partly during joint training sessions, hosted by each partner, focusing on various aspect of housing support.
- Helsinki, June 2017
- London, September 2017
- Barcelona, November 2017
- Budapest, January 2018
- Brno, April 2018
The partnership consists of:
Arrels, an NGO devoted to serve homeless people in Barcelona since 1987, is an entity where everybody collaborates. Homeless people provide knowledge through their experience and critical view, the volunteers team makes it possible to rebuild bonds with the most vulnerable people and the professionals add their technical skills and the continuity of the processes.
The Budapest Methodological Centre of Social Policy and Its Institutions (BMSZKI), which is the largest provider of services for homeless people in Budapest and offers a wide range of services, as well training courses for staff.
Menhely Alapítvány provides social assistance to homeless people in Budapest and tries to foster cooperation among various units of society. They operate the fedélnélkül street paper.
Platforma pro Sociální bydlení (the Czech Platform for Social Housing) is an umbrella organisation that unites 65 members - service providers, experts in the field of social housing and people in housing need, advocating for a Social Housing Bill that would end homelessness in the Czech Republic. One of the members of the Platform, IQ Roma servis has specific experience and training in housing stability support services based on Housing first principles.
St. Mungo’s provide safe places to live and help people recover from the issues that create homelessness since 1969. The Learning and Development Team are expert at training staff and volunteers in a wide range of skills to ensure that the services for people who are homeless are second to none. All our training is delivered by experienced practitioners who bring their practical knowledge to the courses we run.
Vva Ry (No Fixed Abode) was founded by homeless people themselves 30 years ago. The organization aims to influence Finnish housing policies to get rid of shelters and make it possible for everyone to live in his or her own apartment. They have a long history of participation and peer support work done by homeless people – the first ten years they ran completely on a voluntary basis, and the first person to be employed was a former homeless man.