Presentation given by Aldis Strapcans, Riga City Council, Latvia at a FEANTSA seminar on "Governance of homeless service provision at local level: One-size-fits-all or diversity of models across Europe?", hosted by the Committee of the Ergions, June 2010

1. Leading by default when the third sector has
Policy Coorditator of Welfare Department
traditionally played a small role in tackling of Riga City Council
homelessness
Mr. Aldis STRAPCĀNS
SITUATION IN RIGA
(IN CAPITAL OF LATVIA)
OVERVIEW OF THE GROWTH OF THE TERM NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS
“HOMELESSNESS – A PROBLEM IN LATVIA”
• In 2007 the Riga City Council approved the Action Plan
“Provision of Assistance to the Homeless in Unfavourable Weather
Conditions in Riga”, prescribing
• There didn’t exist such a problem as homelessness till year 1991 necessity of increasing assistance provided to the homeless during the winter
when Latvia gained independence period from 1 October till 30 April;
necessity to conduct an information campaign in the mass media on providing
assistance to the homeless during the cold period of the year.
• In 1995 homelessness was recognized as official problem and the
• In 2008 the Riga Council approved
definition of term was included in legislation “The Strategy for the Development of the Social Services and Social
Assistance System of the Riga City for 2008 – 2013”,
which is a medium-term policy planning document covering goals of the local
• According to normative acts of the Republic of Latvia, the duty of the authority, areas of activities and their implementation programmes in the field of
local authority is to provide social assistance and social services social services and social assistance to promote the growth of the life quality of
for homeless persons Riga residents by ensuring a professional and efficient quality operation of the
system of social services and social assistance in line with needs of the
population.
For the most part the approved Strategy states that:
individuals without permanent domicile will be provided with temporary
accommodation and the most necessary services for satisfying self-care and
other basic needs;
low-income residents will be provided with apartments in social houses or
social apartments in order to prevent their risk of homelessness
STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS
THAT PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES FOR HOMELESS PERSONS THAT PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES FOR HOMELESS PERSONS
IN RIGA IN 2011
• Riga City Council is the leader for providing most services in-house, because
being one common institution it can provide:
Day care centre
Riga shelter
municipal institution Welfare Department upper limit stability for all the social sphere;
of Riga shelter
of the Riga City Council monitoring of all the social services
there are not enought NGOs that could provide all the social services autonomy
Mobile team for
street social
In summary: Riga City Council administrates, monitores and finanses
work with all the social structures
homeless persons
• Cooperation schema among Riga City Council, NGOs and Riga Shelter:
NGO shelter Social rehabilitation centre NGO shelter
“Zilais Krusts” “Labā cerība” “PINS” – Riga City Council defines necessary services;
– Riga City Council informs NGOs about these necessities;
NGO shelter Social rehabilitation centre Soup kitchen
“VELG” “Labā cerība” “Dzīvības ēdiens” – In NGOs competence is to provide social services as good as possible;
– NGOs reports to Riga City Council about the provided services;
NGO shelter NGO shelter Soup kitchen – In case of inability to provide any social services by NGOs Riga shelter
“VELG” “Latvijas Sarkanais Krusts” “Diakonijas centrs” takes the lead of this situation, ie., adopts the provision of these social
services

2. STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTIONS SHELTERS IN RIGA
THAT PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES FOR HOMELESS PERSONS
• Riga shelter is a municipal institution, established in 1996 by Riga City
• Positive and negative aspects of this kind of service provision: Council. At first 20 places were provided in this shelter
+ Competition among NGOs stimulates the growth and the development of • In this time Riga shelter can shelter 170 persons, in case of need,
the quality of the offered services;
in winter – up to 230 persons
+ NGOs as a social structure is more elastic than other structures, ie.,
NGOs can fit to the changes of different situations more variably and • There are not enough places in Riga shelter to shelter all the homeless
faster than other structures; persons of Riga, therefore since 2003 Riga municipality buys shelters
services from Non-Government Organizations (hereinafter – NGOs)
+ Cooperation with NGOs is financially more benefit for Riga City Council
than in case of cooperation with only Riga Shelter, therefore
• Since the number of homeless persons in Riga is increasing, the number of
partnership with NGOs is an increasing value bought places in shelters offered by NGOs are increasing as well. Up to
in the social activities of Riga City Council now the number or NGOs that provides these shelters also is increased :
Year Places Number of NGOs
− NGOs are small structures and in different cases (lack of resources, 2007 305 2
lack of personal etc.) they can break up accomplishment of 2008 360 3
these social services 2009 450 4
2010 475 5
2011 563 5
MOBILE TEAM FOR STREET SOCIAL WORK DAY CARE CENTRE OF RIGA SHELTER
WITH HOMELESS PERSONS
• Day care centre for homeless and low-income persons (hereinafter – DCC)
• Mobile team for street social work with homeless persons (hereinafter – was established in May 2009 as a structural unit of Riga shelter
Mobile team) was established in November 2007 as a structural unit of Riga
shelter
• Mobile team: • DCC provides:
informs homeless persons on how to receive social assistance, social rehabilitation services,
gathers information and regularly inspects homeless persons’ assembly places, fostering of social skills,
clarifies the situation, needs and problems of each homeless person, activities in support- and self-help groups
motivates homeless persons to deal with their social problems and supports
them according to the situation and needs • Services provided are:
• Mobile team is composed of three team members: full time stay (week days from 9.00 AM to 17.00 PM),
social worker, services of social work and social rehabilitation specialists,
carer, services of family doctor at the level of primary health care,
driver shower services, incl. use of hygiene means,
• The route is composed of soup kitchen addresses and supplemented with services of disinfection,
other homeless persons’ assembly places lunch for clients who take part at DCC activities and exercise responsibility of
collaboration,
• Working hours of Mobile team: 9.00 AM to 17.00 PM
self-service laundry
• All Riga districts are inspected on location weekly
• DCC services are awarded in accordance with social worker’s assessment
of individual needs and resources of the client
For visualization: in 2010 Mobile team has consulted 1959 persons,
received 581 phone calls and conveyed 1771 persons to For visualization: in 2010 1378 persons received DCC services,
shelters or medical institutions on average 148 persons daily
SOCIAL REHABILITATION CENTRE
SHORT-TERM STAY SERVICE
FOR HOMELESS PERSONS
• Social rehabilitation centre for homeless persons (hereinafter – • Short-term stay service was established in July 2009 by „Latvijas Sarkanais
the SRC) was established in January 2008 by two NGOs Krusts” (Latvian Red Cross)
• Social rehabilitation includes: • The total number of places in short-term stay service is 42 places
a set of measures aimed at developing social skills and working skills,
promoting the recovery by the person of his/her social status, • Short-term stay service is meant for
involvement into the labour market and the community, persons of no fixed abode
preventing the negative consequences in a person’s life caused by other factors or
according to a tailor-made social rehabilitation plan for each client
persons that have come to crisis situation
• The total number of places in SRC is 18 for men and 10 for women
• The period of the client’s stay at the SRC is one year Therefore this kind of service is appropriate for persons who are residing
in Riga shelter and are waiting in queue for municipal dwelling-space or
services of long-term social care and rehabilitation institution
For visualization: In 2010 SRC services received 52 persons
• If the client cannot pay the whole amount of service pay Riga Social care
centre co-finances it by municipal regulations

3. SOUP KITCHENS INFORMATION ABOUT HOMELESSNESS SITUATION
• Soup kitchens as one of services in Riga has existed for several years, but
IN RIGA
up to 2006 this service is financed only by voluntary donations.
• Starting from 2006 a part of necessary soup kitchens funding is co-financed
The number of clients in shelters of Riga in year
by Riga municipality
Number of clients total
For visualization: In 2010 Riga municipality is co-financed soup kitchen
services provided by 3 organisations, 3500
up to 900 portions daily in winter, five times weekly, 3182
3000
up to 400 portions daily in summer, five times weekly
2597
2500
• There are several soup distribution venues In Riga where homeless and
low-income persons can receive hot meals 2205 2164
2000 2019 1949
• Number of hot meals portions is organized in accordance with current 1716
1500 1491
financial resources:
1000
Total number of portions per year 939
597 636
500
Year Portions 357
2008 113 054 0
2009 103 825 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
2010 155 503
2011 (planned) 165 300
THE MAIN REASONS
FOR HOMELESSNESS INCREASE EMPLOYMENT OF CLIENTS OF SHELTERS
IN RIGA IN 2008, 2009, 2010 AND IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN 2011
• Housing:
high rent;
high costs of utilities (still remaining problem); Number of employed Number of Number of persons Number of persons of
persons of the unemployed persons with disabilities (sick) the retirement age
• Employment: working age of the working age
unemployment;
low-income employment
2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011
• Personal factors: 22% 7% 6% 6% 36% 54% 69% 64% 28% 22% 15% 20% 14% 16% 10% 10%
lack of social functioning ability;
lack of motivation;
addiction problems;
insufficient qualification; ♦ The rapid increase of the number of homeless using night
homelessness as a life-style; shelters can be explained by the increase of unemployed
bad health condition; working-aged persons due to the rise of unemployment in the
stereotypes of the society that facilitate the exclusion of this particular group of country as a whole
the population
AVERAGE AGEDNESS OF CLIENTS OF SHELTERS CONCLUSIONS
IN 2010 AND IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN 2011
• Over the years (and especially in last ten years) problems of homelessness and
(percentage) begging in Riga is a rapidly increasing value
WOMEN MEN • The main reason of homelessness increase is an economical crisis that affects
such serious structures as
Age 2010 2011 Age 2010 2011
employment, causing low-income employment and unemployment, and
18-30 2% 8 % (+6) 18-30 9% 8% (-1%) housing, causing lack of available housing or of affordable housing for
31-40 20% 9 % (-11) 19% (+3%) those on low incomes and long-term institutionalisation
31-40 16%
41-50 17% 14 % (-3) • As a positive aspect is appreciated the current structure of social services
41-50 25% 25%
41 % (+10) 51-61 39% 35% (-4%) institutions in Riga, ie., the third sector or NGOs are in subordination of one
51-61 31%
10% (+2%)
common institution – Welfare Department of the Riga City Council, thus
62-70 23% 23% 62-70 8% providing a maximum unification of purposes, courses and intensity of NGOs`
71- more 7% 4 % (-3) 3% activities
71- more 3%
• The current political system on purpose to decrease homelessness in Riga is
♦ Most of the shelter residents are before retirement age. This kind of deficient in several aspects:
situation makes difficult for these people to solve their social situation which • Deficient financing for the social system;
leads to problem – finding housing in accordance with their income • Deficient practical realisation of normative documents (mainly because of
the lack of financing);
• Deficient number of NGOs (the third sector) as performers as well as
deficient courses and intensity of NGOs` activities;
• Deficient united system for registration of clients in Riga shelters

4. COURSES OF FURTHER ACTIONS
• Providing sufficient financing for the social system;
• More effective coordination of the realisation of normative documents;
• More effective coordination of activities of NGOs or the third sector;
• Developing of general social services for the homeless in Riga by
expanding the role of NGOs or the third sector,
increasing the number of day centres and shelters of various levels
(for motivated and unmotivated clients, for persons in a mild or medium THANK YOU
state of intoxication caused by substance abuse etc);
establishing a “half-way house” (with an average of 100 places) where FOR ATTENTION!
people could stay till they receive accommodation (in view of the fact that
about 16% of shelter clients are on the queue for municipal assistance in
resolving the apartment issue);
expanding the operation of the entity of the Riga municipal shelter
“Mobile Team for work with the homeless” as it is necessary to clarify
the situation, needs and problems of each client as well as to motivate
them to address their social problems and to provide adequate support
taking into account the client’s situation and needs;
establishing a united system for registration of the homeless in Riga
for precision of the total number and common necessities of shelters clients