Conclusion on homeless shelters

Homeless shelters are faced with increased demand from undocumented migrants and the homeless sector has great difficulty adapting to it.

The main problem is that homeless organizations are mostly very specialized in problems of homeless people. The main aim of these organizations is to assist their clients with their re-integration in society. Therefore admission of undocumented migrants into facilities such as housing and social rehabilitation centres is usually jeopardized, because these migrants’ integration possibilities are limited due to the lack of a legal status.

Also, the workers in shelters often lack the capacities to properly assist undocumented migrants, whose needs and causes for homelessness are usually quite different to those of the other homeless. Homeless shelters thus aren’t generally a reliable and lasting source of help for undocumented migrants.

A residence permit and a minimal source of income are the usual conditions of entry, exceptions for undocumented migrants are sometimes made depending on the state of vulnerability of an undocumented migrant: unaccompanied minors, divorced women or victims of trafficking, sick persons. In these cases the additional entrance condition is often that these undocumented migrants are undertaking something to get out of their irregular situation.

Access to night shelters is generally somewhat easier and is limited to single persons who are able to pay the couple of euros entry fee, though the availability of space (limited and often very tight), the ideology of the shelter, its source of funding and financial means, the standpoint of the local authority (which is sometimes different to that of the national government) and whether the shelter is subject to severe police controls greatly influence the willingness of a shelter to welcome undocumented migrants. Women’s shelters are generally more accessible.

Homeless shelters were initially designed for national homeless, which means that any long-term help (except for the few places with projects specially for undocumented people) is designed to help those who are entitled to the benefits of the national social welfare system. These homeless are often unaccustomed to sharing space with foreigners and frequently make them feel unwelcome.

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