Posted 04.12.14
The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) announced the ten finalists for the 2014-15 World Habitat Awards, chosen from over 200 projects, from over 80 countries around the globe:
Community-Led Infrastructure Finance Facility: Asia and Africa
Starting from the philosophy that the poor are worthy of investment, this finance system enables slum improvement projects in Asia and Africa to go ahead where bank finance is unavailable.
Upgrading of Audi Uniao Shantytown, Curitiba: Brazil
Upgrading project using a multidisciplinary, participatory approach to protect those living in high-risk areas on river banks by providing safer and improved living conditions and ensuring families can stay within the same area.
Rural Habitat Improvements: El Salvador
Using locally sourced building materials, training local households and embedding knowledge within local communities, this project has enabled 300+ families to improve their housing and reduce the incidence of Chagas disease.
Building, renovating and leasing buildings to house homeless people through partnerships with municipalities and non-government organisations. Playing a lead role in a policy that is on target to end long term homelessness in Finland.
Indigenous People Building Their Homes: Mexico
Focusing on the right to adequate housing for indigenous communities by providing technical assistance and funds to enable people to build their own homes using traditional building practices and locally available materials.
Build Back Safer with Traditional Construction Methods: Pakistan
Over 20,000 flood resistant houses developed and built by the most vulnerable families using traditional building designs with lime and bamboo, creating huge savings in cost and embodied carbon over standard approaches.
Recycled plastic bottles filled with water and a bit of bleach fitted into roofs to provide daylighting and upgraded with an LED bulb, micro-solar panels and battery to provide a low cost night lighting system lighting up 160,000 homes in the Philippines.
Shelters and advocacy services help 1000s of homeless people in Saint Petersburg, a harsh environment in which state help is weak and there is little public sympathy. Winter temperatures are extreme and living on the street is perilous.
Social Housing in Supportive Environments: Serbia
Providing new permanent housing for displaced people and other vulnerable groups including homeless people and Roma communities, enabling closure of government collective centres. Host families provide support to help re-integration into society.
Social Inclusion and Improvement of Living Conditions for Roma: Serbia
Improving housing conditions and integration of Roma people within wider society using a 'Dweller-driven Upgrading of Roma Settlements Model' to upgrade houses, improve sanitation, help improve school attendance and help people into work.
Posted 01.12.14
After only a month, six Health and Wellbeing Boards have signed up to the St Mungo's Broadway Homeless Health Charter and pledged their commitment to measure and understand the health needs of homeless people.
The homelessness charity St Mungo's Broadway asked its supporters to write to one of 152 local Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWB) in England, asking them to take urgent action to tackle the ill health of homeless people in their area as part of its Homeless Health Matters campaign.
Six Boards have now signed up so since the campaign launched a month ago today:
St Mungo's Broadway, together with another organisation - Homeless Link, has found that two thirds (64%) of HWB had no reference to homeless people within their local plans. Of those who did, only a quarter included detailed information.
Research has also shown that:
Use this link for mote information about St Mungo's Broadway Homeless Health Charter.
