Housing: A Game of Snakes and Ladders

The Greek islands are now empty. Since 2020, almost everyone has been moved to the mainland. Many displaced people now find themselves in crowded camps and on the streets of Athens. This is because the available accommodation options are insufficient; they are like a snakes and ladders board, only the ladders are missing. For people forced to play this game, there’s no way to win.

Forced displacement separates a person from their home and support network. People, particularly men, arrive in Athens alone and with nothing in place. In this instability, it is virtually impossible to find and maintain private accommodation, so many people turn to state-provided options. These state-led schemes have serious flaws, but crucially they do not help people return to private housing. Those who can access the schemes are locked in; those who can’t are left homeless.

Mazí’s supportive housing programme helps people acquire the ‘keys’ they need to independently exit homelessness for good.

The Accommodation Options: A Game of Snakes, No Ladders

Private Accommodation

Few who arrive in Athens with the financial means to rent choose to remain. Those who do are rarely able to maintain this housing as they lack the support of community, reliable sources of information, and access to stable work. Isolation and exploitation are common, and discontinuation rates are high.

ESTIA

Joint UNHCR and EU-led programme designed to house vulnerable asylum seekers for whom camp accommodation was unsuitable, in city apartments. Many of these apartments were poorly kept, with minimal social support from overwhelmed staff, no integration support and no incentive to move on to financial independence. In mid-2022, ESTIA was closed, and residents have since been moved to camps or evicted.

HELIOS

IOM–led programme to support recipients of international protection with 12 months of rent subsidies, social support and mandatory language classes. On paper this looks promising, but it is only available to previous residents of ESTIA programme or camps, and requires applicants to find funds for a security deposit, and a landlord willing to rent to them, both major challenges that render this programme ineffective.

Camps

Far away from city centres; crowded in a container or tent, frequently with strangers; stress, boredom and claustrophobia often manifest in violent outbursts. With nothing to do during the day, sleep cycles are disrupted and people can become institutionalised. There is little support from site management staff, or opportunities for integration or employment, particularly as camps are either closing or transitioning to prison-like CCACs.

Musafirkhana

(Dari for travellers houses) A nightly fee of €3-10 for a turn to sleep on the floor of a living room in a crowded apartment or house, and occasionally food, light, heat, and cooking facilities. This kind of accommodation is illegal, and other illegal activity (people smuggling, drug dealing) is often conducted there too. This makes restful sleep fanciful, as residents are at risk of robbery, and younger men also at risk of assault.

Street Homeless

Finding a place to sleep on the street, in doorways, under bridges or in parks. People sleeping on the street are vulnerable to harassment and arrest by police, as well as to the weather, robbery and assault. No access to sanitation. Susceptible to gang recruitment, or survival sex work.

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Our Theory of Change

A house provides stability. This is a crucial base.
Housing and support is a route to proper self-reliance.

None of the accommodation options above provide a stable base from which to build a life. This instability stops people from acquiring the ‘keys’ – legal status, language, strong mental and physical health, financial self-reliance – to access society more broadly.

This is why we take a housing first approach. Rather than expect people to gather these ‘keys’ alone before finding housing, we provide a house first, affording someone the time, space and stability to move forward by themselves.

A stable house is a prerequisite for assembling these ‘keys’, but a house alone is not enough. People also need support, be it legal, vocational, educational, medical, psychological, or fraternal, all of which are near impossible to access within other available accommodation options.

Members of the Mazí community have a stable house and the support they need to engage actively with society and progress with their lives.