Important but not urgent: The advocacy role of homelessness organisations in the Netherlands

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A major increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the Netherlands in the past decade can be attributed largely to the absence of effective governmental policies and legislation. Organisations working on homelessness, especially those representing the interests of people experiencing homelessness, have a crucial role to play through advocacy: highlighting the faults in existing policies, promoting alternatives, and holding the Government accountable. Despite being well-placed to do so, very few of these organisations in the Netherlands undertake sustained advocacy with the aim of changing government policies. This study identifies five barriers these organisations face which prevent them from becoming impactful advocates: (1) a lack of organisational resources dedicated to advocacy, (2) little cooperation between organisations, (3) absence of mechanisms to ensure constituency involvement, (4) dependence on government funding, and (5) ineffective participation in consultation structures. Based on these findings, this paper identifies a number of recommendations for organisations representing the interests of people experiencing homelessness and the Dutch Government.
24 p.