How Do People in Slovenia View Homelessness?

Although the right to housing is recognized as a fundamental human right, many European countries still do not ensure sufficient access to safe, dignified, and affordable housing. In Europe, approximately 895,000 people are currently sleeping outdoors, in night shelters, or in temporary accommodations.

In 2024, as part of the international EU Homeless Count project, a research team from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana (UL FSS), led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maša Filipovič Hrast, investigated the size and characteristics of the homeless and housing-excluded population in Ljubljana, finding that a large portion of the homeless population (29.2%) is enrolled in temporary shelter and housing support programs, 18% sleep in public spaces, and a quarter live in unconventional dwellings. Homelessness is not a marginal issue but remains a significant social and sociopolitical challenge; therefore, it is also important to understand people’s views on how to address this problem. 

In a new study on people’s perceptions of and attitudes toward homelessness in Slovenia, conducted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maša Filipovič Hrast and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tatjana Rakar, from the Centre for Welfare Studies UL FSS, the results show that the public recognizes homelessness as a problem, but not as a particularly pressing one: on a scale of 1 to 5, respondents rated it 3.04 on average. Although homeless people were not rated very highly on the scale of eligibility for government assistance (compared, for example, to the elderly or employed parents), they were rated higher than the unemployed.  

Among the responses to the question of what causes respondents believed were responsible for homelessness, the most frequently cited were addiction (62 %), unemployment (58 %), and mental health issues, which were cited by 32 %. Structural causes, such as a lack of affordable housing and insufficient social assistance, were mentioned much less frequently (by fewer than 10 % of respondents). This understanding significantly influences which assistance programs the public supports and under what conditions.

Focus groups further reveal an important dilemma: basic assistance is often understood as something that must be provided unconditionally, while broader assistance is often linked to the expectation that the individual demonstrate a willingness to change, work, undergo treatment, or integrate into society. The study thus contributes to an understanding of homelessness as an issue of social justice and the problem of conditionality in social policies.

You can read the full research on the link.

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The study addresses the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): ending poverty and reducing inequality.

Infographic: FILIPOVIČ HRAST, Maša, RAKAR, Tatjana. Unravelling perceptions: conditionality and deservingness when addressing homelessness. International journal of housing policy. 22 str. ISSN 1949-1255.