Murcia city launches new tool to help homeless
A new collaborative initiative aims to improve care for the municipality’s most vulnerable
The City Council of Murcia, in collaboration with local charities, has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative to address homelessness through the Homelessness Information Tool (HIPS).
Designed to enhance coordination between public services and social organisations, the “innovative” initiative is supposed to be a step towards alleviating social exclusion.
HIPS, developed with support from the Cepaim Foundation and EU Next Generation funds, is part of the European project ‘Intervention with Homeless People: With You!’.
Basically, the tool offers a shared platform for charities and municipal services to register and monitor the presence of individuals in vulnerable housing situations, with the hope this will allow them to improve care services.
Murcia’s Councillor for Social Welfare, Family and Health, Pilar Torres, described the project as “a symbol of how collaboration between public and private entities can generate a transformative impact on the lives of the most vulnerable people.”
Murcia, home to an estimated 500 people living in social exclusion, has seen a troubling shift in demographics. This year, for the first time, young people aged 18 to 23 have been identified among the homeless population.
José Manuel Martínez, president of the Fundación Jesús Abandonado, expressed concern: “It is alarming that young people, some as young as 18, are already on the streets.”
Some of these young individuals are immigrants who lost access to support systems upon reaching adulthood.
More than half of Murcia’s socially excluded population is homeless, while others live in precarious or inadequate housing.
HIPS aims to address these issues by providing accurate, up-to-date information on resources and social intervention pathways; preventing duplication of efforts by improving coordination between charities and public services; and promoting a person-centred approach to care, ensuring services are tailored to individual needs.
One of the dangers of recording the presence of homeless people on a digital register is the possibility that their details might end up staying on there forever, even if their housing situation changes, and it could have a detrimental affect on their being able to access employment, insurance or other services in the future.
That is why key homeless charities such as Cáritas, Fundación Jesús Abandonado and Hogar Sí have agreed to sign on to HIPS on condition that the system commits to a shared responsibility for data management under strict privacy regulations.
The initiative is part of Murcia’s Strategic Plan for Homeless People (2022-2025), reflecting the city’s self-proclaimed “commitment to dignity and inclusion”.
By empowering social organisations and improving resource management, it is hoped that HIPS will be a hopeful step toward reducing the vulnerability of those without stable housing.
There are currently an estimated 37,000 homeless people and individuals living in vulnerable housing situations across Spain.
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