Presentation given by Ulrich Wolff during the "Channeling EU funds to homeless services: is Europe doing enough to support the fight against homelessness?" seminar at the FEANTSA 2014 Policy Conference, "Confronting homelessness in the EU: Seeking out the next generation of best practices", 24-25 October 2014, Bergamo (Italy)

1. Ulrich Wolff – ESF Hamburg
Introducing Housing First in the
European Social Fund

2. Agenda
• ESF Implementation in Germany
• ESF Implementation in Hamburg
• Strategic Framework
• Overall Concept – Assistance to the homeless
• Masterplan – Tackling homelessness of young people
• The Project
• Social Innovation
• Success factors for Social Innovation to ESF in Hamburg
• ESF and FEAD

3. ESF Implementation in Germany
• Germany as a federal republic consists of 16 federal states
• Each federal state has its own Operational Programme and
receives a different share of ESF funding depending on its
need for social and economic development.
• 17 Independent Managing Authorities
• 1 on federal level
• 16 on state level
• 18 different Operational Programmes
• 7,5 Billion euro ESF-budget for programming period 2014-
2020

4. ESF Implementation in Hamburg
• ESF Managing Authority at Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs,
Family and Integration
• ESF-Budget 2014 – 2020: 78 million euro. Overall: 156 mill.
• 3 Thematic Objectives
• promoting sustainable and quality employment and supporting
labour mobility
 promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any
discrimination
• investing in education, training and vocational training for skills
and life-long learning

5. Relation to EU 2020 - Strategy
EU 2020 target: Fighting poverty and social exclusion
•Priority – Inclusive growth
• at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social
exclusion
EC: Why does Europe need inclusive growth?
Even before the crisis, there were 80m people at risk of poverty,
including 19m children.
•Flagship initiative European platform against poverty ensuring
economic, social and territorial cohesion, National Reform
Programme, Country Specific Recommendations, Position Paper
etc.
Challenge for Hamburg:
•Higher risk of poverty in Hamburg than on federal level.
•Highest risk of poverty for young people, migrants, low skilled

6. Strategic Framework
• Operational Program refers to a strategic framework of 16
different thematic fields
• UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD)
• EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
• National Strategy to promote literacy
• Regional / local strategies

7. Overall Concept - Assistance to the Homeless
• Goal - taking concrete actions to improve the living
conditions of the homeless
• 5 fields of activity
 Housing
 Prevention and Inclusion
• Health
• Homeless Shelters
• Winter Emergency Program

8. Masterplan Tackling homelessness of young people
Overall objectives
•Protecting young people from precarious living conditions
•Integration into society / participation in society
•Reducing financial burdens for municipal services
•Removing entry barriers to the housing market
5 Strategic dimensions
•Emergency shelters
•Sheltered homes for young people
Construction of apartments for young people
Supporting measures
•Creating networks

9. Masterplan Tackling homelessness of young people
Why a project?
•Strong political will
•Construction of 250 apartments for young people (intended)
Supporting measures for the tenants
•Implementation of the housing first concept
•Reduction of financial burden if people leave a certain
municipal service earlier

10. Supporting measures - the project
• Project title - Home Support
• Project Promoter – Evangelische Stiftung Bodelschwingh
• Duration 01.08.2014 – 31.07.2017
• Budget 1.140.000 euro (50% ESF, 50% co-financing – City of
Hamburg)
• Target group – 18-21 year old youth looking for accommodation
after leaving municipal services for children and youth – ETHOS
Category 6 or 8
• 800 participants should be reached by the project
• Project aim: Assisting young people to cope with their new living
and housing situation.
• Assistance and support in their new living environment
• Supporting people with multiple problems
• Job orientation

11. Social Innovation
Social innovation can be defined as the development and
implementation of new ideas (products, services and models) to meet
social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations.
It represents new responses to pressing social demands, which affect
the process of social interactions.
It is aimed at improving human well-being. Social innovations are
innovations that are social in both their ends and their means.
They are innovations that are not only good for society but also enhance
individuals’ capacity to act.
Social innovation / ESF- Regulation 1304/2013 Article 9
The ESF shall promote social innovation within all areas falling under its
scope, as defined in Article 3 of this Regulation, in particular with the aim
of testing, evaluating and scaling up innovative solutions, including at the
local or regional level, in order to address social needs in partnership
with the relevant partners and, in particular, social partners.

12. Success factors for implementing social innovation
measures in Hamburg with ESF funding
• Lean implementation structure
• Active recommendation of ESF-usage
• Implementation on a cooperative basis
• ESF-Managing authority acts as a service provider
• Enabling uncomplicated access to ESF for local authorities
• Small ESF-Programme – We fund projects not programmes
• OP focused on individuals
• Political will for social innovation

13. Usage of ESF and FEAD in Hamburg
•ESF managed by the City of Hamburg (78 Mio. € for
Hamburg)
•Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived managed on
federal level (79 Mio. € for Germany)
•Federal level and Länder agreed on coherence
•ESF-MA and local authorities can set up tailor-made
measures that tackle local problems and fit into local
strategies
•FEAD-MA will launch nation-wide calls
•ESF funding in Hamburg started in 2014
•FEAD OP not yet adopted

14. Ministry of Labour, Social and Family Affairs and
Integration Hamburg
Ministry of Labour, Social and Family Affairs and Integration
Hamburg
Department for Labour Market Policy, ESF-Managing Authority
Ulrich Wolff
Hamburger Strasse 47
22083 Hamburg
ulrich.wolff@basfi.hamburg.de