Having access to a stable home enables the homeless person to tackle other pressing matters such as unemployment, mental health and addiction, said Hartini Zainudin co-founder of the Yayasan Chow Kit charity.
“The Housing First model prioritises providing stable housing without preconditions. The Malaysian government should partner with property owners to secure affordable housing units and accelerate the development of low-cost housing projects,” she told FMT.
She said the Finnish government, with the help of NGOs and local authorities, converted many temporary hostels and emergency shelters into permanent housing under the Housing First initiative since the early 2000s.
According to Housing First Europe, the number of homeless people living in hostels or boarding houses in Finland decreased by 76% from 2008 to 2017.
The initiative, equipped with optional support services, stands apart from the “treatment first” model, which requires individuals to demonstrate that they can live independently before they can gain access to housing.
Laili Ismail, acting president of the Pertiwi soup kitchen group, said temporary shelters should have a “homely” environment to give homeless people a sense of stability – a feature taken up by Singapore in its shelter designs.
“An environment reminiscent of a home provides stability and gives people the drive to strive to be independent. They can think better and would want to be able to own a similar place they can call home,” she said.
Last Monday, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng urged the welfare department to adopt best practices from countries with low rates of homelessness, such as Japan, Singapore, and Finland, to develop long-term solutions to the problem in Kuala Lumpur.
Lim also said the department could collaborate with higher education institutions to carry out research into the root causes of homelessness.
Hartini said Japan had enacted a law to help homeless people achieve independence; the law requires the Japanese government to hold a nationwide survey of the homeless population in cooperation with local authorities.
Support services come next
Hartini said the House First initiative should be paired with a comprehensive support system that includes integrated service centres providing rehabilitation programmes for addicts, mental health counselling and job placement services for those seeking financial independence.
“Job training programmes should be expanded to tailor to the needs of the homeless population,” she said and urged the government and NGOs to partner with local businesses to create employment opportunities.
Laili said academic research was necessary to better understand the homeless population in KL, including identifying at-risk groups and analysing demographic trends.
“It’s been observed that many people from other states don’t mind being homeless in KL because they can rely on the shelters provided by Kuala Lumpur City Hall and meals provided by NGOs,” she said.
Laili also claimed that some retirees visited soup kitchens not because they were currently living in poverty, but out of fear that their savings might soon be depleted.