The users will begin to speak if they only get the chance
10-11-2009

By: Preben Brandt

Did it pay off? I am thinking of all the work and expenses in connection with the conference which the FEANTSA, the SAND and project UDENFOR were in charge of in Copenhagen at the end of October. So short time after, this question can only be answered according to the immediate experiences of the conference. If we take a long view perhaps we shall never get the complete answer as to the importance and results of the conference. The long-term significance of this conference like so many other conferences might be to change the course of things along with other factors.

As co-responsible of this European conference on user participation in the homeless field I am hardly the right person to give a highly objective evaluation of the quality of the conference. But I’ll allow myself to express some thoughts about what was said which might move prejudices and present or create new knowledge.

About 20 countries were represented with roughly 300 participants. Among the participants we don’t know the exact number of homeless people or users. At any rate, at least 30. My experience was that the focus was on user participation. This was also the whole idea of the conference. The seven participants in the two panel debates were all or had been homeless people. In the 10 workshops the users were also very active partly listening partly as introductory speakers. During the plenary sessions only the professionals made the presentations. Very fine contributions but not better than those made by the users in the workshops and the panel debates.

I don’t remember seeing so many homeless people participating so actively and well before at a conference on homelessness. This in itself is of course a success and must mean something to them especially that they were so good and precise at communicating their wishes and needs.

In a workshop I heard two Dutch homeless persons tell about a housing project which was user controlled to a degree I have not heard of before. The municipality which was in charge of it had had the courage to leave all the initiative and decisions about the house rules to the residents. This meant no social caretaker, no control, support or other kinds of guardianship. There was a social worker the residents could call if they needed it. Otherwise it was up to them. Were there any problems? Yes, plenty, we were told. Were they solved? Yes, of course – and by the users themselves. Great that the Danish professionals who work with housing for the homeless people, including one of the big foundations, were present and heard about something so exciting and innovating.

Among others, all equally interesting, Mike Seal from England participated in the panel debate. He was a former heroin addict with many hospitalizations at a psychiatric department behind him. Twenty years ago he became involved in the fight for the rights of the homeless people. Today he is associate professor in social science and teaches homeless people how to do research in homelessness – and how to assume responsibility for their own lives.

Even if the professional we-know-better attitude and paternalism appeared once in a while during the debate, the conference illustrated in the most excellent manner that you don’t need to give the floor to the homeless people. All you need is to invite them, and then they will take the word themselves, and contribute with something relevant.

As I was walking around greeting the participants during the banquet, I noticed that they were good at mixing with each others as I had suggested some weeks ago in our news letter. I could not avoid seeing that everybody enjoyed themselves. Men and women, young and old with their national and other kinds of differences. The day after at the general assembly of the FEANTS on Saturday, they were divided up into two groups: “service-providers” and “service-users”, but the night before they were just one big group who enjoyed themselves.

Many different impressions mingle in my memory of the conference. But generally speaking I cannot get rid of the feeling that we are still far from believing that homeless people can take care of themselves. It is true that they need a hand to help them on the way to a more common life or even if they want to stay in an alternative life but they definitely do not need anyone to take the power, responsibility, and the courage away from them.

To conclude: Yes, indeed it was worth the work and the money.