Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Priority access to housing for families with children – Swedish Radio

Malmo grappling with homelessness increasingly affects those who have bad economy and poor support in the housing market. Now benefits municipality 100 apartments for homeless families with children in Malmö. The hope is to be able to save millions in housing costs.


More and more Malmö residents become homeless because of low income and poor support in the housing market, rather than social problems. Most of them were born abroad and last year’s survey shows that a third of all homeless people in Malmö are families with children. To combat this benefits the municipality together with the municipal housing company MKB 100 apartments for homeless families with children in Malmö.

In the selection, the municipality looked at the families who had expensive, uncertain and long-term accommodation solutions such as apartment hotels, hostels or apartments by the municipality itself rents, which Tarek Darwichs cases.

– It was very difficult because it was a small one and my children have asthma, says Tarek Darwich who fled to Sweden from Syria with his family last April year.

Chance to own contract

Tarek’s family is one of the 100 homeless families with children who have had the chance to move from temporary housing solutions own apartments. After staying with friends so they had to stay four people in a studio apartment which the municipality rented. Last spring they moved into a three-room apartment in Rosengård in Malmö, and the winter will the family be able to take over the contract. Tarek Darwich said several times how grateful he is for the help they received.

– Housing is a necessity in order to get started and work, to then pay back to the Swedes for the help we received when we came here, says Tarek Darwich.

The municipality saves

Malmo city hopes to save millions of dollars in living expenses by allocating apartments. The most extreme example is a family who moved from a home that cost the municipality 60 000 per month for an apartment that cost 7000 SEK in rent. In one year, it can save several hundred thousand dollars, according to Karin Andersson, Development Secretary of the City of Malmö.

The first families moved in during October 2014. Most have income support or introduction benefit, though there are some that are self-sufficient . Today, 74 of the 100 families had time to move into their apartments. Yet none of them has taken over his contract, which they are able to for about a year.

– What applies to get its own agreement is applicable to all other EIA apartments, to pay rent on time and that they do not disturb or destroy, or incur new debt. Many of these families do not need social services. What they need is shelter. It is about a housing shortage, no need of social support, says Helen Karkkola, director of the apartment unit in the city of Malmö.

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