Homelessness affects everyone, even leaders in Davos

Homelessness affects everyone in the world and must be dealt with on a local and global level in order to provide better solutions that create work and housing for and with homeless people. As soon as you pay for the train ticket headed to the World Economic Forum at Davos and get on board, it only takes a few minutes to realize that poverty has been properly blocked off from this part of the world. Constant snowfall perfect for international skiers and casual conversations, highlighting the various ways they could have arrived to Davos such as a limo, helicopter or private jet make it challenging for almost every passenger to remember that poverty even exists. 

My name is Andrew Funk, and I am the president of an NGO called #HomelessEntrepreneur that helps homeless people who want to tell their story and work to get off the street, and I’m one of the passengers on that train who didn’t forget about the 2.5 billion people living in poverty. I’m currently writing this article while standing at the Sustainable Impact Hub thanks to Olivier Delarue and his amazing team. Not only is it challenging to focus after sleeping out in a teepee in the below freezing weather last night to be coherent with the people we support, but all the stimulating conversations in the background from leaders at UPS, Red Cross and UNHCR also make it easy for me to be distracted, which represents the beautiful chaos created at Davos thanks to all of the people that want to show their commitment to improving the state of the world.

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We were freezing and couldn't sleep at night, but we would and will do it again to give homeless people a voice at the World Economic Forum.

 

The only missing factor is the audience that all of these leaders speak so fervently about. Where is the homeless man named Jose who became homeless after he lost his wife to a heart attack at 42 while walking to the grocery store because his love for her was so deep that he didn’t see a reason to live anymore? Where is Tomas’ success story of getting off the street and becoming a full time volunteer to help others during the last month he is supposed to live after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer? Where is the behind the scenes conversation between leaders and those being led?

Although our main message “active citizen participation will end homelessness” may seem to focus on the individual and the local community, we can’t forget that global leaders creating policy are citizens too. Governments are composed of people who have the same exact possibility of slipping on a frozen street or getting their vehicle stuck in snow like the Wall Street Journal, who we helped get out of that situation.

Debate must take place and leaders must listen to the voice of those they help to ensure that our future is shared and not lop-sided. The snow covered teepee which represents real housing for homeless around the world would be a perfect place for world leaders to debate about how greater wealth can be generated among the poorer communities. We have 2.5 billion people who are passively participating in today’s progress and they must be seen as an asset as part of the solution instead of the problem debated behind closed doors that are protected by armed soldiers.

Our sleepout at The World Economic Forum is a microcosm of the reality many homeless people suffer on a daily basis. It is often said that homeless people are invisible, but the truth is society is blind. We cannot expect global leaders like Macron, May, Modi, Trudeau and Trump to sleep in the streets of Davos to show their commitment to ending homelessness, but we can and should expect them to address the issue and start creating policies that will facilitate the work of all the large and small organizations who believe the world can be a better place and will if we actually care and focus on how to solve global issues by involving the local community.

Will homelessness be addressed this year in Davos? Will I get a world leader to have a 5 minute conversation over coffee in the cold? Will results be found in Google when you search for “Davos homelessness” this week? I can only determine the last answer, but I will do everything in my power to reach the heart and mind of at least one world leader while I’m here. Whether or not our future is truly shared is now in their hands because local communities are waiting for them to say yes to the first two questions.

Everyone has a voice and it’s time to recognize all of them! 

Andrew Funk, President of #HomelessEntrepreneur                                                                      Cell:+34 697 877 089                                                         Email: funk@homelessentrepreneur.org

Trabeja.com collaborates with HomelessEntrepreneur

#HomelessEntrepreneur is an altruistic project with the vision of offering opportunities to homeless people wanting to eat the world. Andrew Funk, founder of the project, recognizes that "there are more than 40,000 people homeless in Spain and many of them have not had the opportunity to train and find work." For example, in Barcelona there are approximately 1022 people sleeping on the street while in Madrid they are about 2059. Cádiz is the city that has increased this number the most in the last year, by 60%, given the level of unemployment.

Thus, Trabeja.com, a collaborative economy platform where neighborhood services are offered, supports the project by providing appropriate jobs to the profiles that need it. Nitai Anidjar, co-founder of the platform tells us: "35% of the people who are left homeless, is due to the loss of work." He expressed his concern and declared his interest in supporting #HomelessEntrepreneur.

How are the homeless in Spain

73% of homeless people are in the streets 24 hours a day. The remaining 27% is found only during the night in some night shelter.

Only 4.5% after a month finds a home, while 44.5% take more than 3 years to find it. In Spain, 54% are Spanish and 46% are foreigners.

Approximately 80% of the homeless are men and the remaining 20% re women.

How to get out of the situation

No one ends up on the street overnight, nor on the first day that a person is left without work. It is a process in which the economic situation deteriorates until it can not sustain itself. A good many of the homeless people do not have or accept family support or from whom they can receive immediate help. Loneliness or marginalization are the origin of this unfortunate stage.

The most useful methods to solve the situation is with training and offering work. These solutions require essential expenses such as clothing.

Getting out of the situation is complicated for people without papers, those with addictions of alcohol or other drugs and those who suffer from diseases and are untreated.

 

Summary of the 3rd #TodosDurmiendoEnLaCalle

It all started in front of the CAP of Drassanes in Barcelona at 7:30 p.m. on November 11. As soon as the first 20 people arrived, we moved to the side of the building to start the conference. While everyone stood in front of the tattooed wall of graffiti, I gave them an introduction about the event and touches of what to expect.

We had the pleasure of having speakers such as Álvaro Vives Suñé, Marcel Abbad Sort, Jesús Martinez and Menchu Omero  that night.

The concrete value we offered to homeless people was a quick and free HIV test thanks to Dr. Álvaro Vives Suñé. One of the participants took the test.

During the conference, several homeless and homeless people stopped while walking through the neighborhood to listen and participate with us. A man named Juan, who has received a home thanks to the work of Fundació Arrels, showed great interest in what we were doing and also showed his concern for the management of the help received by the homeless in Barcelona. Probably the most surprising fact of the night was the following comment of Dr. Vives: "One of the most effective preventive measures to prevent sexually transmitted infections in certain groups is giving stability to these people in the form of a roof ."

After the conference, we look for cardboard to make a bed with the asphalt and put us in our sleeping bags. In the end, there were 5 people left (2 homeless and 3 people with home).

Just before the first attempt to sleep, a Romanian approached to sit next to us and talk. While breaking a white bag and another green one to put a white substance, I believe, inside a stopper where he would put a little water afterwards, he explained that his ex-wife left him for another and that she was pregnant and that he wanted to die. We did not expect to hear a frustrated love story but we listened carefully. After putting the chute in his right arm vein, taking blood, spurting, blood sacking and chute again to make sure the effect of the drug is more immediate, he got up and asked if we wanted water or something. We said "no thanks" and he took 3 € and offered them to me. I said "no thanks" again and insisted until I accepted.

Enrique, the 2nd #HomelessEntrepreneur, went to the place where he usually sleeps on the beach because he had to do training the next day; Vincent, the 4th #HomelessEntrepreneur was fried in less than 5 minutes; and Andrzej, the 3rd #HomelessEntrepreneur, tried to sleep between all the noise of fights, citizens under the influence of alcohol and young people who celebrated the mere fact that it was Friday. I did what I usually do at night: keep my eyes open while thinking. Much to my regret, small drops began to fall on my pupils and I wondered if it was going to rain more or not. I received a response within 5 minutes and had to move under a scaffolding next to the wall to avoid getting so wet. Marcos told me that the place where we were sleeping was the epicenter of people who have a drug addiction and the movement of people walking blindly to the dark corner of our side did not stop until 4 in the morning when I finally fell asleep until the 8h16. Fortunately, one of the volunteers of #HomelessEntrepreneur, Laura looked for us to give us breakfast at 9h40.

It was time to start the third stage of #TodosDurmiendoEnLaCalle, to make citizens aware so we gradually walked towards Plaça Sant Jaume where we put ourselves in strategic places to communicate better with the people who were walking around.

I was approached Koldo Blanco, councilor in Barcelona, and we had the opportunity to meet in person for the first time after meeting us on Twitter previously. If each politician showed the same interest and listened in the same way, homelessness would not exist in Barcelona in 5 years.

We said goodbye and went to a press conference. By instinct, I followed him because the interest to listen has to be mutual or it should be. So I went to listen to your party's press conference in front of the Ajuntament de Barcelona. At the end of the intervention, I had the pleasure of speaking with two people I knew on Twitter but not yet in person: Carina Mejias e Inés Arrimadas. Another example of how politics should be when its citizens want to communicate to change their community. Andrzej spoke with Inés in English and recommended him Barka.

It was approaching the 13h and another organization, CIEMEN, He came with loudspeakers and microphones to express his complaints and we decided to move to the next site because we do not intend to compete with such high waves.

We continue to the next place to create more awareness: The Cathedral of Barcelona. Just when I arrived, I found Carme Cachon on the stairs and I presented #HomelessEntrepreneur with a flyer. I asked him to take 5 minutes to see what we were doing to accelerate the process of eliminating homelessness in Barcelona and then he said goodbye in English.

We spent 2 and a half hours in front of the Cathedral and then went to Plaça Catalunya to sit on a bench, rest our feet and wait for the treasurer of #HomelessEntrepreneur: Angel Sole Muñoz. While we were waiting quietly, Andrzej brought us one of his homeless friends from Holland to talk about the possibility of entering the program. As soon as Angel arrived, I introduced him to the team and we went walking to have lunch in a soup kitchen because it is always open on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays at 5 p.m. We were very hungry and we were very tired. #TodosDurmiendoEnLaCalle is a very intense event and it tires a lot. The hours pass quickly from 7:30 p.m. on the first day until 2 p.m. the next but the last 5 hours and a half are killers and go slower than a snail napping. Finally we came to The Community of Sant Egidio where the director David welcomed us. Each new person has to conduct a 5-minute interview to receive their card. Here you have mine.

I entered the dining room and they assigned me a seat with 5 more men. On my left was Juan, the homeless person I met the previous night at the conference and 3 others playing among them in a very good mood. I ate a cream of first course carrots and second meatballs. The dessert was a super rich orange. I would have asked for two if I could!

We left from the soup kitchen and went to El Fornet to order 2 cafes with milk, a cappuccino and a red tea. We enjoyed the last hour talking about the points of improvement of the event and what went very well. We said goodbye at Carrer d'Avinyó and everyone went in a different direction with the same taste in their mouths: knowing that #TodosDurmiendoEnLaCalle will be the key to the change needed to accelerate the process of eliminating homelessness in Barcelona. First stage: learn; second stage: empathize; third stage: teaching.

This time we have been able to know one of the most conflictive parts of Barcelona and we hope that the 4th event will teach us much more!

We hope you will come to the next event that will be at Plaza Universitat on December 9th at 7:30 p.m.