Municipalities urge national government to develop policy for homeless individuals

A strong consensus was reached among the social affairs committees that gathered for a joint meeting in Hlégarður in Mosfellsbær last Friday. They discussed services for homeless individuals with complex and extensive service needs. The meeting included representatives from social affairs committees of capital area municipalities – Garðabær, Hafnarfjörður, Kópavogur, Mosfellsbær, Reykjavík City and Seltjarnarnes – along with Directors of social services and other municipal staff. At the meeting's conclusion, the committees adopted a joint resolution urging the national government to develop long-term policy in this sector and emphasizing that the government should increase its funding contribution. The resolution emphasizes continued progress in this policy area within each municipality, drawing in part on a homelessness report published in March 2023 by the Association of Municipalities in the Capital Area.

Goal: creating a shared vision for the future

The meeting's goal was to initiate a dialogue on a shared vision for addressing the issue of homelessness for individuals with complex and extensive service needs. Soffía Hjördís Ólafsdóttir, head of division for this sector at Reykjavík City, presented the action plan that was unanimously approved by the City Council last January. She reviewed the support and services that Reykjavík City provides and discussed the importance of municipalities sharing a common understanding of the service's target population to ensure specialized support and low-threshold services. The group is diverse and includes people with substance abuse issues, mental health challenges, and/or developmental disabilities who experience housing instability or homelessness. The group is also often characterized by a history of severe and prolonged trauma. Additionally, Soffía Hjördís reviewed the progress made since Reykjavík City first established its policy in this field in 2019, including the expansion of specialized resources. Soffía also discussed Reykjavík City's successful cooperation with other municipalities, noting that over a quarter of shelter guests have legal residence in municipalities outside Reykjavík.

The municipalities' complete resolution reads as follows:

Significant progress has been made in services for homeless individuals with complex and extensive service needs in recent years. Increased emphasis has been placed on mapping and diagnosis of the user population, enhanced user consultation and innovation in developing service pathways for individuals with different service needs. Reykjavík City has led this work and provided support to other municipalities. Notably, Reykjavík City bears the brunt of the costs for these services and has sought increased cooperation from other municipalities.

Each municipality in the greater Reykjavík area has a cooperation agreement with Reykjavík City for access to emergency services. They have also worked on developing services in this sector within their own municipalities. The resolution stresses the urgent need for municipalities to enter into formal cooperation for additional services based on the specialization and knowledge that has developed in recent years at Reykjavík City, such as that of the Outreach and Counseling Team.

The joint meeting of social affairs committees in the capital area urges the national government to develop long-term policy in this policy area and emphasizes that the government should increase its funding contribution. The meeting also emphasizes continued development in this field within each municipality, drawing in part on a homelessness report published in March 2023 by the Association of Municipalities in the Capital Area.