Startblok, self-managed housing for local youth and young refugees

Toni Codina on 14 March 2023

An innovative model that addresses the housing needs of both young people and refugees. It promotes the integration of young people from different backgrounds who have the common goal of an affordable home. It offers them housing at an affordable price and with a secure rent, which allows young people, both locals and refugees, not to be expelled from the city and to be able to access a job or continue their studies.

Startblok Riekerhaven is aimed at Dutch people and refugees between 18 and 28 years of age who want to get actively involved socially. For a much lower price than the market price, Startblok offers self-contained temporary housing –with a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet– which is variable in size –around 20 m²– and common areas for each residential group, equipped with a kitchen and a balcony. This space allows for the sharing of life experiences and knowledge, thus contributing to the creation of a community respectful of diversity and reinforcing social cohesion. Residents are selected on the basis of their vulnerability and willingness to be involved in the social and cultural aspects of the project and to commit themselves as a long-term member of the community. The maximum tenancy is five years and, when someone moves on, they are replaced by a new resident of a similar profile –gender, age and educational level– to maintain the balance and diversity of the project.

At Startblok, equal and respectful treatment of all residents is key, as well as the coexistence of very different cultures, languages, customs and ways of doing things. The community functions through the self-management and self-organisation of the residents themselves, with spaces to elaborate and implement their initiatives, both for the formation of community and social cohesion and for the day-to-day maintenance of the model, such as the selection of new tenants and the management of applications. It is this way that a comfortable and pleasant living environment is created, where everyone feels welcome, valued and supported; in short, a home. This housing model thus makes it easier for refugees –who have just arrived in a new country– to build friendships and contacts and to rebuild their lives. It is thus an innovative example of how to address the needs of refugees in a positive way, while providing much-needed affordable housing for young people.

Characteristics of innovation

Bank of innovations, Adolescence and youth, Fully inclusive cities, Homelessness and the right to housing, Immigration, Independent living, Link with the community, New model of intervention, Self-management and participation

Localization

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Partners / Funders

Gemeente Amsterdam, Ykeallo, Vluchtelingenwerk

Genesis

In 2015, at the height of the migration crisis in Europe, there was a very high number of asylum applications in the Netherlands. Amsterdam was looking for a creative solution to provide a home for these people, but at the same time it also had to deal with the social and economic problems that prevented young Dutch people from finding a home. It was then that the idea was born to start a housing project, 50% for refugees with asylum status and 50% for young Dutch people. Startblok Riekerhaven came to life in 2016, with the arrival of the first residents. As a result of the cooperation between Key, the municipality of Amsterdam and Socius Wonen, the Riekerhaven sports complex was refurbished and converted into housing where more than 500 young people now live.

Level of implementation

The Startblok model –initially in Riekerhaven– has created dialogue and social cohesion between different groups of young people, both within the community and outside in the neighbourhoods where they are located. The success of the model has been reflected in its replication. In Elzenhagen, in the same city, more housing has been built following the same logic. Thus, the Startblok model inspires similar initiatives and can be replicated wherever there are vacant plots of land or housing.

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Guides and simulators for economically vulnerable populations

Toni Codina on 13 March 2023

Soliguide (France) y Les meves ajudes (Spain).

Held on May 9, 2023.

People and families living in poverty often find it very difficult to find out about and access the services, resources and aid that society makes available to them, both from government and third sector organizations. The diversity of organizations, especially in large cities, the regulatory complexity of public aid, the labyrinth of aid and social benefits and how to access them, or the problems associated with the digital divide are barriers that are difficult for many people to overcome.

In recent years some NGOs and public administrations have developed innovative digital tools that try to provide a solution to this problem, in the form of guides and simulators that offer quality information in an easy, fast and accessible way to people who need it, and at the same time are very useful for social professionals who have the daily task of guiding and informing these people.

Soliguide, a French social action mapping platform that facilitates access to essential services and promotes social reintegration by providing quality information to all those who need it. Soliguide has a database of 23,000 organizations and 62,000 services, which it continuously updates, ranging from social emergencies to social and socio-professional reintegration, with the aim of taking into account all types of needs of people in situations of vulnerability and social exclusion. All the major French associations and the French government are involved in its management. The database, which in 2022 received 1.8 million searches, is available through various digital and paper supports.
Les meves ajudes, a personalized prescription tool for social aids and benefits that brings together the main financial aids of the various levels of Public Administrations in Spain aimed at the economically vulnerable population and also at the general population. Sometimes it is difficult to know if you meet the requirements to access any of the more than 200 social aids and benefits granted by the many Spanish public administrations. That is why this Barcelona City Council simulator, which received more than 100,000 visits in 2022, filters the aid available to each person according to their income and family situation.

Speakers:

Victoria Mandefield, Solinum Association (Paris, France).
Marta Juan, Barcelona City Council (Spain)

Amb el suport de:

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Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran

Toni Codina on 8 March 2023

Picture: Gemma Pla (Tucutun)

Project for early detection and social intervention in situations of loneliness of the elderly in the Alt Pirineu-Aran region.

(2023-2025)

Project of innovation in social services that aims to implement a pioneering initiative to detect and address early and effectively, from basic social services, situations of unwanted loneliness of the elderly in the six mountain regions of the Catalan Pyrenees.

The detection and attention to situations of loneliness of the elderly are today a concern and a priority objective for the basic social services of the six Pyrenean counties, given that the Alt Pirineu-Aran concentrates the three most over-aged counties in Catalonia, while the other three counties of the vegueria are above the Catalan average. At the same time, Alt Pirineu-Aran is the territory with the highest rate of single-person households, almost 1/3 of the total, much higher than the rest of the vegueries and the average for Catalonia.

The Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran project aims to address this serious need in the social services of the six regions, which currently lack sufficient resources, suitable tools, or a clear methodology to tackle it. It proposes to address this through the piloting, implementation, and evaluation of the Basque system Auzosare, a technology-based and community-based system that has proven to be highly effective and successful in mountain municipalities of Guipúzcoa over the past years. Developed by Agintzari and Gislan with the support of BBK and the European Union, it combines a traditional asset of mountain regions, such as community care, with technological innovation to put both at the service of the most vulnerable population.

First, through the Vincles-detection tool—a digital tool based on big data—regional social services can detect, early, automatically, and with geolocation, elderly individuals at risk of experiencing unwanted loneliness. Next, Vincles raises awareness and engages the community to strengthen neighborhood networks and promote community activities that respond to the identified situations. Finally, with the support of professionals, it offers support and accompaniment to people in situations of social vulnerability, inviting them to participate in community activities.

On the other hand, through the AISSS Alt Pirineu-Aran study, the iSocial Foundation has promoted the participation of the Health system in the project by incorporating health data into the early detection digital system and fostering collaboration between health professionals and social service professionals. This integration aims to make addressing loneliness an area of coordinated social and health action.

The project is driven by a consortium led by the iSocial Foundation, which also includes the six County Councils of Alt Pirineu-Aran (Alt Urgell, Pallars Sobirà, Pallars Jussà, La Cerdanya, Alta Ribagorça, and Val d’Aran), the University of Lleida, and three third sector entities operating in these regions: Cooperativa Alba Jussà, Fundació Integra Pirineus, and Associació ABD. In addition, the Alt Pirineu-Aran Development and Promotion Institute (IDAPA) and the two Basque organizations that developed the Auzosare system are collaborating: the cooperative group Agintzari and the technology company Gislan.

Website of the project

Objectius

To incorporate Vincles-detecció, a technological system of standardizable territorial information applied to the protection of the elderly in the Alt Pirineu-Aran, which allows to detect situations of loneliness and social isolation in an updated, immediate and accurate way.
To improve the efficiency of the actions of the Social Services of the six counties by carrying out highly accurate social diagnosis, which includes the needs and opportunities of each county for a precise planning of the intervention, using innovative technological tools and the participation of the formal and informal resources of each county.
Activate the protective capacity of the community, by raising awareness of the problems of elderly people feeling lonely in each county and the involvement of community assets (people, businesses, services, etc.) in the different action responses (planning, dynamics of mutual support, network of “antennae” sensitive to possible risk situations, etc.).
o evaluate the project in order to extract evidence for continuous improvement to systematize an effective, replicable and sustainable community intervention model both for the Social Services of Alt Pirineu-Aran and for the Basic Social Services Areas of Catalonia as a whole.

Expected benefits

Early detection by regional Social Services of unwanted loneliness among the population to enable proactive, rather than reactive, action and to prevent situations of social vulnerability in towns and municipalities.
Ensuring the universality of regional Social Services in addressing the issue of loneliness. Invisibility is a defining characteristic of loneliness, but the Vincles technology tool makes it possible to detect and respond to everyone affected.
Providing personalized care to elderly individuals who feel lonely, reconnecting them with the community and improving their autonomy and quality of life.
Strengthening community networks and fostering more cohesive and engaged local communities.
Providing peace of mind to family members and neighbors, thanks to the attention of social services and the protection of community care.

Leader:

Partners:

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In collaboration with:

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With the support of:

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Persianes amb ànima, an art project that empowers women and neighbourhoods

Toni Codina on 7 March 2023

A community project of artistic creation that promotes social and laboral inclusion for women who are vulnerable or at risk of social exclusion. It is a transformative project, based on urban art as an engine of change and social awareness, which builds community and allows the discovery and modification of the environment.

Persianes amb ànima –in English, shutters with a soul– is based on a series of workshops on the restoration, design and painting of shutters taught by professional illustrators and muralists. The project covers the whole process: after an initial theoretical and practical part to introduce participants to the artistic discipline, they carry out a final practice on the shutters of shops in the neighbourhood. Apart from being a collective learning space, one of the objectives of the project is to create safe and comfortable spaces for the participants. In this way, Persianes amb ànims aims for art to be, apart from a distraction, a source of increased security and self-confidence.

During the implementation, an important part of the project is the participatory process that takes place between artists, students and the people in charge of the shops. It is in collaboration with the neighbourhood and the neighbourhood associations that the shutters to be rehabilitated are selected. Once they have been chosen, the task is to jointly decide on the messages that the shutters will communicate, understood and used as a loudspeaker to educate and raise awareness about equality, social inclusion, feminism and sustainability. Also during this process, the stories of the neighbourhood’s small businesses are discovered –which allows neighbourhood ties to be forged– and these stories are then captured in the drawings on the shutters. Thus, Persianes amb ànima highlights the potential of art as a tool for social inclusion and a space for female empowerment, capable of making visible what is not visible.