There's much we can learn from Ukraine in the fight against homelessness

Nearly four years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, life in the major cities away from the front lines appears deceptively normal. Life does not stop because of the war. People still need to go to work, look after their families and spend time with friends. 

But this surface appearance of normality is deceptive. I was recently in the country for the first time since 2019 as part of a London Homelessness Foundation delegation visiting national homelessness charity Depaul Ukraine. People are tired and strained. Memorials to fallen soldiers, including personal tributes to fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, are everywhere. Everyone we spoke to seemed to know someone who had been killed in the fighting.

People are adept at using social media to calculate which of the frequent air raid alerts they need to respond to, but everyone also has a grab bag by the bed in case they need to head to a shelter quickly at night. They make sure they always know the location of the nearest shelter when they are out and about. People are weary but determined.   

The war has had a profound impact on homelessness in the country. A staggering 3.7 million people have been displaced since 2022, and Depaul Ukraine research found that almost a quarter of those sleeping rough became homeless as a direct result of being displaced by the conflict.  

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Despite these stark realities, I was struck by the sense of optimism amongst Ukrainians as they plan for post-war recovery. Prior to the war, just 0.3% of the country’s population lived in social housing, and, as Ukraine looks towards beginning their European integration process, their housing policies are under review to facilitate the development of affordable social housing.  

In Ukraine, as in other places, a lack of housing is a primary cause of homelessness, and the evidence shows that a housing-based approach is the most effective way to end homelessness. That’s why I was privileged to take part in a roundtable event about social housing organised by Depaul Ukraine.

Speaking alongside senior politicians, the roundtable aimed to ensure that, as plans are made for physical reconstruction when the war ends, the needs of those experiencing homelessness are not forgotten. 

The effects of the war will continue to impact homelessness in the country. Some veterans will struggle to deal with the trauma arising from what they have seen, families have been broken up and bereaved, and homes have been destroyed. This all comes on top of the homelessness problem that existed before the war, and the lasting impact of Soviet hostility to those experiencing homelessness.  

In these circumstances, Depaul Ukraine’s work on the ground preventing and ending homelessness is inspiring and humbling. I became involved in Depaul Ukraine’s work in 2016, when I helped them set up their first programme in a prison near Kharkiv to help reduce the number of people who became homeless when they were released.

At this time, they were supporting approximately 8,500 people experiencing homelessness each year – a number which rapidly grew to over 100,000 people a year when they scaled up their services in response to the war. Their prisons work has now expanded to 25 prisons across the country and plays a vital role in preventing homelessness by engaging with those in prison who are at risk of homelessness upon their release. 

I hope that sharing London Homelessness Foundation’s experiences will be useful in Ukraine, but there is also much that those working to end homelessness elsewhere can learn from Depaul Ukraine’s urgent, human, and practical responses to the needs they see around them. 

It’s uncertain how long the war in Ukraine will continue, but as long as it does so we will work with Depaul Ukraine, helping them shape policy by sharing some of our experience and learning – often from the mistakes we have made – and taking inspiration from their determination and compassion. 

Professor Nick Hardwick is trustee of the London Homelessness Foundation.

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