1. |
- Anderberg, Mats, 1961-, et al.
(author)
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Homelessness and Social Exclusion in Two Swedish Cities
- 2019
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In: European Journal of Homelessness. - Brussels : Feantsa. - 2030-2762 .- 2030-3106. ; 13:1, s. 31-58
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study is to describe the living conditions of homeless people in the cities of Gothenburg and Karlskrona in Sweden and to analyse their level of social inclusion and social exclusion. The empirical basis of the study was interview responses from 1 148 individuals in connection with initial contact with municipal housing programmes. The study clarifies that people in these programmes are a heterogeneous group in terms of gender, background and current living situation. A majority of the homeless people are living in difficult conditions and are in extremely exposed positions. Three different groups emerged in the analysis of the study population: individuals who are socially included (15%), marginalised (65%) or socially excluded (19%). The article also discusses the various groups’ discrete needs and their implications for preventive as well as more interventional actions on the political and practical levels.
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2. |
- Granath Hansson, Anna, Ph.D. 1971-
(author)
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Housing the Vulnerable: Municipal Strategies in the Swedish Housing Regime
- 2021
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In: European Journal of Homelessness. - 2030-2762 .- 2030-3106. ; 15:2, s. 13-36
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Swedish unitary housing regime entails that everybody should be included on the regular housing market and that there should be no housing reserved for vulnerable households. However, this regime presupposes certain additional measures such as municipal social contracts and priority in housing queues. Moreover, municipal housing companies are expected to play a larger role in housing the vulnerable than other lessors, although they formally do not belong to a social housing sector. This study describes the strategies of six Swedish municipalities to house the vulnerable. Most measures taken by municipalities in this study are in line with the unitary housing regime. However, the present tight housing market has put strategies under considerable pressure in some localities. This has resulted in restrictions of eligibility for various complementary solutions and the introduction of avoidance strategies. Alternative solutions such as an increased municipal housing ownership outside the traditional municipal housing companies are limited. The study might be of interest also to readers from other European countries, as it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of strategies within a unitary housing regime where the ideal is ‘good housing for all’ and there is no de jure social housing.
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4. |
- Hansson, Erik, et al.
(author)
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The Exceptional State of “Roma Beggars” in Sweden
- 2018
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In: European Journal of Homelessness. - 2030-2762 .- 2030-3106. ; 12:2, s. 15-40
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Across Europe, social-democratic, liberal democracies have become host to growing numbers of impoverished EU migrants (often called “Roma beggars”) who seem to pose a challenge to the tenets of egalitarianism and social protection that are the foundation of the welfare state. Sweden is no exception. Nor has it been exceptional in its response: creating what can be described as a “state of exception” for homeless, impoverished EU migrants wherein they are afforded fewer rights, and almost no access to care, compared to other migrants to the country (such as refugees and asylum seekers). In this paper we examine the nature of this “state of exception” – and consequent denial of rights for poor and homeless EU migrants – and how it has been justified by invoking the inherent fairness of the Swedish system. We do so by reviewing, but especially extending, the Italian philosopher Georgio Agamben’s concepts of state (and space) of exception, bare life, and homo sacer to describe the way homeless EU migrants are understood and treated in Sweden, and then by carefully examining the major policy statement on the matter, the “Valfridsson Report,” which was written to harmonize practices across Swedish jurisdictions while providing the legal basis for making an exception of impoverished EU migrants, and which is now being implemented in law.
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5. |
- Nordfeldt, Marie, 1961-
(author)
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A Dynamic Perspective on Homelessness : Homeless Families in Stockholm
- 2012
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In: European Journal of Homelessness. - Bryssel : Feantsa. - 2030-2762 .- 2030-3106. ; 6:1, s. 105-123
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article focuses on homelessness among families with children in Sweden, and particularly on the situation of homeless families in Stockholm. The objective is to contribute to the understanding of homelessness by suggesting an intersectional analysis that both includes different levels of analysis – that is, at structural, institutional and household levels – and allows gender, class and migration parameters to be taken into consideration. On the structural level, a restructured housing market in combination with a disman-tling of housing policy has raised the threshold for entering the primary housing market, especially for individuals and families with limited economic resources. In addition to the risk of being discriminated against based on ethnicity, this restructuring has appreciably raised the difficulty of entering the market on a more general level. At the institutional level, local social authorities offer solutions to homelessness that have been developed for more traditional groups of homeless people, namely, single men with alcohol or drug problems; they lack the means to change the structural conditions of the housing market or the distribution of housing, and can only expand the secondary housing market, in which people are at risk of becoming 'trapped' as the gap between the primary and secondary housing markets becomes increasingly large. On the individual/household level, a combination of single motherhood, immigra-tion and limited financial resources clearly increases the risk of homelessness and exclusion from other social arenas.
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6. |
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7. |
- Stenberg, Sten-Åke, 1953-, et al.
(author)
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Locked out in Europe : A Comparative Analysis of Evictions Due to Rent Arrears in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden
- 2011
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In: European Journal of Homelessness. - 2030-2762 .- 2030-3106. ; 5:2, s. 39-61
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although evictions are a significant cause of homelessness they have received relatively little interest from social scientists. International data are scarce and there are few descriptions of the processes leading to evictions. This paper attempts to shed some light on this under-researched issue. First, an attempt is made to develop a theoretical framework placing evictions in the intersection between civil and social citizenship, and the importance of distinguishing between the macro- and micro- levels in the analysis of evictions is underlined. Secondly, three specific countries are studied: Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. The legal basis for evictions, eviction procedures, and the possibilities for avoiding homelessness arising from rent arrears are presented and compared. Preliminary data on the numbers of evictions are also given. Some striking differences in the process of dealing with evictions between the three countries are brought to light, and the overall lack of data on evictions is emphasized.
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9. |
- Wirehag, Matti, 1984
(author)
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Gatekeeping, Managing Homelessness and Administrating Housing for the Poor: The Three Functions of Local Housing Services for People Experiencing Homelessness in Sweden
- 2021
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In: European Journal of Homelessness. - 2030-2762 .- 2030-3106. ; 15:1, s. 85-107
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Homelessness constitutes a growing area of concern for policy- makers and service providers across Europe and beyond. One of the aims of this study was to explore and compare how local social services organise and manage housing services for the homeless. The other was to study specific and detailed functions of local housing services for the homeless, such as rules and regulations regarding interventions and how they are specified in different types of municipalities. Previous research has shown that housing services for the homeless are growing throughout Sweden. Today, about 1.5% of all rental contracts in Sweden are subleased as social contracts through local social services. This study used semi-structured interviews with professionals in charge of homelessness in 30 Swedish municipalities to explore the institutional settings and management of local housing services for the homeless. The results suggest that local housing services for the homeless, although varying in size and complexity, share three overarching functions: gatekeeping, managing the homeless, and administrating housing for the poor. All three functions focused, in different ways, on handling the homeless rather than ending homelessness. It is also clear that the majority of the work conducted by social services regarding housing is more similar to housing administration than social work.
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