Making Measurement Count: the Brno Challenge Convening
- Dec 8, 2015
- 2 min read
Homelessness is a global problem.
In urban areas alone, it is estimated that 1.1 billion people live in inadequate housing conditions, 100 million of them with no housing at all. The solution to these problems is not simple. For many governments the primary objective is to help those in the most housing need; those sleeping on the street or in temporary/emergency accommodation. The solution starts with knowing who needs housing urgently, and identifying their needs.
The IGH Global Framework was designed to help with this task by breaking a large problem into more manageable pieces. But a common vocabulary is only part of a larger process; we believe the next step forward is measuring the problem in order to better understand and solve it. High-level homelessness counts allow us to understand overall progress, but many cities are eager to go further. Knowing the specific people experiencing homelessness in a neighborhood by name, with detailed information about their needs, helps cities make good decisions and effectively allocate resources to end homelessness.
So how can a city or neighborhood know everyone living on the street or in shelters by name, with enough information to move them toward housing, and at very low cost?
On December 9-10, 2015, IGH and the Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF), in conjunction with the Brno City Municipality and the Platform for Social Housing and supported with facilitation and training by Community Solutions, will bring together leaders from six cities across three world regions in Brno, Czech Republic to tackle this shared challenge. During the Brno Challenge Convening, each city will learn how to mobilize volunteers, organize and act on individual-level data with limited resources.
Attendees from Brno, Chile, South Africa, England and Spain will bring expertise to specific challenges, learning from one another and building a plan to implement when they return home. For those from Brno, England and Spain, this work is supporting their efforts as part of BSHF's European Campaign to End Street Homelessness.
Each country comes with its own unique set of challenges and bright spots. IGH hopes that bringing these perspectives to the table will generate new ideas that can be adapted and applied in communities around the world.
Comments