An exciting and innovative three-day E.U. Seminar ‘Adapting Housing First, Bridging Gaps, Meeting Needs was held as part of the Erasmus+ Project ‘Adapting Housing First – Innovating Housing Staff’.
The event, which took place in the historic Nano Nagle Place ran from 25th – 27th March 2025, with an Official Opening of the Seminar by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Dan Boyle – who is also a Board Member of the Irish Council of Social Housing.
The Seminar explored and focused on how the internationally recognised Housing First model has been developed and adapted across Europe.
Those participating in the Seminar had an opportunity to learn from new evidence insights on Adapting the Housing First Programme, as well as contributing their views on this key intervention to addressing homelessness.
Sessions included presentations from the four project partner organisations Y-Foundation, Housing First Berlin, Arrels Fundació and Sophia Housing as well as experts, practitioners, state agencies, academics and leaders in the construction and homes industry from across Ireland and Europe:
- Arrels (Guillem Fernández Evangelista) - ‘Housing First Options: Permanent Housing with Flexible Supports’
- Y-Foundation (Riikka Perälä, Juha Kahila & Saija Turunen) - ‘Different keys, same door: moving forward with Housing First’
- Housing First Berlin (Ingo Bullermann, Karen Holzinger, Merle Klonk) - ‘Learnings of a HF-Project that tried to follow the Pathways model strictly’
- Housing First Berlin (Ingo Bullermann, Karen Holzinger) – ‘How Housing First Model operates in Berlin’
- Sophia Housing (Tony O’Riordan. C.EO) – ‘The Adaptions of Housing First Model” Sophia Housing a Case Study 28 Years in the making!’
- The Adapting Housing First Website was launched by Etain Kett, Administration and Compliance Manager, Sophia Housing (Project Co-ordinator of the Adapting Housing First Project).
Invited Speakers included:
- Michael O’Flynn, Chairman/CEO, O’Flynn Construction and Michael McCarthy, Chairperson, Sophia who engaged in a Fireside conversation to spark discussion on addressing the Housing Crisis
- Keynote Address by Dr. Riikka Perälä, Y-Foundation on learning from the Adapting Housing First research to date ‘Adapting Housing First in Europe – Perspectives from the Real World of Policy Implementation’
- Dr. Harvey Maylor (Said Business School Oxford University) brought fresh perspectives on the role Systems Thinking plays in addressing a housing crisis and ‘How to scale up a Response to the Housing Crisis learning from Major Programmes’
- Laura Fritz, Partnership & Project Officer, Housing First Europe Hub spoke about ‘Housing First in Europe: Insights from the Housing First Europe Hub’
- Gráinne Johnson National Housing First Office, Mark Jordan, Head of Housing First South West Region, Cork Simon and Joe Kirby, Social Inclusion Manager, HSE Cork / Kerry shared insights on ‘National Regional and Local Perspectives’ in Ireland
- Dr. Jo Rolfe Clinical Psychologist from Cork Region Housing First Team discussed the importance of putting the person first in Housing First and integrating Trauma Informed Practice into Housing First
- John Smith C.E.O of Nano Nagle Centre gave an outline on the Ethos of Nano Nagle Place
- Dr. Victor Soto Mallet Community Based Psychiatrist from Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu in Barcelona, provided an overview of the person-led approach that is taken in Barcelona
- Jacopo Lascialfari, Director, Co-ordinamento Toscano Marginalita gave a talk addressing ‘Housing First Options: Permanent Housing with Flexible Supports’
Study Visits and Reflection with the EU Partners took place at three Sophia Housing with Support sites in Cork city on 25th March 2025, A reflection process was carried out to help deepen the participants understanding and to allow them to connect key takeaways to their own experiences. Their contributions will be important to the collective learning of the Erasmus+ Project Adapting Housing First and helps us to understand the realities of homelessness, the role of support services, and how we can contribute to meaningful change.
Interactive workshops, and collaborative discussions were held where participants shared insightful experiences on challenges and innovations in Adapting Housing First, especially during Dr. Harvey Maylor’s Systems Thinking Workshops.
Workshops were also facilitated by Arrels Fundació on the last day – bringing together observations and learning over the three days.
The Seminar which was organised by the lead partner Sophia Housing fostered rich dialogue and strengthened cross-sector partnerships committed to ending homelessness with dignity and compassion. A cultural evening was also held to share Irish traditions, foods, music, and dancing, creating a space to learn about each other's cultures in a fun, relaxed way. It was a great way of building on friendships, inclusion, and respect, all of which are at the heart of Erasmus+ values.
Access to the seminar materials – recordings of the presentations and the slides will be available shortly.