“Po pierwsze DOM – Housing First Gdańsk” is associated with the wider “Housing First – Najpierw Mieszkanie” project, developed to address homelessness in Gdańsk, Warsaw and Wrocław. The project page cited by the City of Gdańsk estimated that about 5,000 people experienced homelessness across the three cities. 1
The national project ran from 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2021, a 30-month period. Its main aim was to introduce the Housing First method in Poland, adapting a solution through cooperation with a partner in Portugal. 1 The approach was intended to help people experiencing homelessness gain independence and overcome difficulties, while also developing a method that local authorities and social-support organisations could use. 1
The project was led by the General Board of the St. Brother Albert Aid Society (Towarzystwo Pomocy im. św. Brata Alberta). Its partners included the Portuguese organisation Associação para o Estudo e Integração Psicossocial, the Polish Federation for Solving the Problem of Homelessness, and the municipal authorities of Warsaw, Wrocław and Gdańsk. 1 The project’s activities included transferring, adapting and implementing the method, as well as exchanging information and experience between partners. 1
The intended users of the resulting solution included local governments at municipal and county level, social assistance and social integration institutions, social-economy organisations and employment-market institutions. 1 The project was part of Poland’s Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development (POWER), under Priority Axis IV, “Social Innovation and Transnational Cooperation,” and Action 4.3, “Transnational Cooperation.” 1 Its stated total value was PLN 5,574,025.60, including PLN 5,391,745.60 in funding. 1