Southern European welfare states and homelessness: Portugal and Greece

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare homelessness policies in Portugal and Greece.

Design/methodology/approach

After a brief overview of the relationship between welfare regimes and homelessness, the characteristics of homelessness policies within the South-European regime are studied. Subsequently, by employing empirical data, a comparison between the homelessness policies of these two countries is attempted through three axes of analysis: the historical emergence of homelessness policies; the impact of the memoranda, as a series of fiscal measures associated with welfare retrenchment, on the deterioration of homelessness; and the characteristics of the social policies being developed.

Findings

It is noted that the two countries consolidate a residual social intervention model that fails to address homelessness adequately.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt to compare homelessness policies between Portugal and Greece.

Citation

Kourachanis, N. (2019), "Southern European welfare states and homelessness: Portugal and Greece", Housing, Care and Support, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1108/HCS-10-2018-0025