Housing First Europe Hub Conference 2024 in Dublin: Barka Team’s Experience
From November 18 to 20, the Housing First Europe Hub Conference 2024 was held at the Hibernia
Conference Centre in Dublin. Our Barka team from Ireland, consisting of Aneta Kubas, Tomasz
Flinik, and intern Jewhenija Kolot, had the privilege of attending this impactful event.
Housing First represents a progressive and innovative approach to addressing homelessness.
Rather than focusing on temporary solutions or other issues such as substance abuse, financial
instability, or other contributing factors, Housing First prioritizes providing homeless individuals
with permanent housing. This approach allows them to shift their focus from meeting basic needs
to pursuing long-term goals such as securing employment or improving their overall quality of life.
Experts and practitioners from across Europe and other continents gathered at the conference to
share best practices, develop strategies, and discuss current challenges and potential solutions.
During the event, we participated in a variety of workshops that provided valuable insights. We
learned how different countries, such as Finland and Denmark address homelessness, reviewed
specific approaches to supporting women and mothers, and heard about the challenges Housing
First organizations face in the reintegration of former prisoners.
One of the most enlightening sessions we attended focused on staff wellbeing. The workshop
underlined the importance of self-care, reminding us that in order to take care of others, we must
first take care of ourselves. We learned how to maintain balance, prevent burnouts, and much
more.
Additionally, we took the opportunity to network with representatives from other organizations,
telling them more about Barka and learning about their work and identifying possibilities for future
collaboration.
Attending this conference was an inspiring experience for our team. We got a lot of valuable
information and are looking forward to applying what we have learned and contributing to ending
homelessness.
Jewhenija Kolot
