The fight against homelessness and its links with anti-poverty policies in Sweden

Homelessness has increased significantly in Sweden since the early 1990s. A national surveyof homelessness in 2023 showed that 27,383 people were in one of the four homelessnesssituations that are recognised in Sweden, namely: (a) acute homelessness; (b) institutional orsupported housing; (c) long-term housing organised by a municipality; and (d) short-termaccommodation arranged by people themselves. These homelessness situations largelyoverlap with the categories included in the ETHOS1 Light framework.The number above corresponds to around 0.26% of the Swedish population. Of thesehomeless people, 60% were men and 40% were women. Around 16% were in acutehomelessness, 10% lived in institutions, 62% lived in long-term housing solutions organisedby the municipal social services, and 12% lived temporarily in their own arrangedaccommodation. Homelessness was particularly widespread in the larger cities, and 9,400children were affected by homelessness. Only 5% of homeless people in Sweden neededsupport with housing alone. A clear majority of homeless people thus had complex problems.People who experience only housing difficulties are largely left to take responsibility for theirhousing situation themselves.The reasons for homelessness in Sweden are multi-faceted. An important factor is the difficultyof accessing housing in the private market due to a lack of accommodation available atreasonable rents. Many homeless people are also not approved as tenants due to low incomeor debts. Other reasons are social problems such as substance abuse and mental illness.Domestic violence is often a cause of homelessness among women. There is also a close linkbetween evictions and homelessness. In 2024, 3,042 evictions were carried out, 711 of whichaffected children.Sweden's national homelessness strategy runs from 2022 until 2026. The government hasallocated SEK 80 million (around EUR 7.3 million) per year to implement the strategy. Thenational homelessness strategy has four goals: (a) preventing homelessness; (b) making surethat no one lives rough on the streets; (c) introducing the housing first method nationally; and(d) strengthening the social perspective in community planning. The content of the Swedishhomelessness strategy corresponds to the goals in the Lisbon Declaration of 2021. TheNational Board of Health and Welfare has the main responsibility for implementing the strategy,which requires cooperation with municipalities and other authorities as well as relevantorganisations and stakeholders.Despite the adoption and implementation of a national homelessness strategy, there are majorchallenges in meeting the goals of the Lisbon Declaration. One obstacle is that Sweden lacksa national anti-poverty strategy. Since the early 1990s housing policy in Sweden has changedsignificantly as the state has reduced its responsibility for providing housing, which has becomeincreasingly market-driven. State subsidies in the rental market have disappeared, while statesupport for the private housing sector has increased. This has created serious problems, witha shortage of rental housing stock for low-income groups. To combat homelessness, socialand housing policy reforms are required to eliminate inequality in the housing market.Adequate social interventions are also needed to provide homeless people with safe andstable housing. The implementation of evidence-based methods to prevent and combathomelessness, such as housing first, need to be expanded, as already emphasised in theSwedish homelessness strategy.