The color line. Social and housing policies must deal with structural racism: active anti-racist policies are needed, which make the visibility and multidimensionality of the issue the main point of public action. The role of mediators and the definition of a code of ethics for real estate agencies can offer a space for a socially-driven logic even in the for-profit sector.
Beyond housing exploitation. The market increasingly focused on temporary and more profitable rentals opens up to greater housing precariousness. Blackmail contracts, scams and illegal practices, especially for people with a migratory background, are commonplace. A stronger role for the public is needed in ensuring oversight and overcoming hostile neighborhood practices. Public and neighborhood policies are needed for integration between different communities.
Paths for people’s autonomy. Leaving reception programs is a critical step for many reasons: we need to rethink the – often paternalistic – methods of reception and facilitate processes of enabling and empowerment for people and communities. The income threshold that requires leaving reception (€6,000) is nonsense: it encourages illegal work, does not recognize the burden of remittances to the countries of origin and fuels – in fact – the practices of exploitation towards these people, as blackmail for the risk of remaining on the streets. Temporary housing solutions must be facilitated (also with the support of the third sector: social hostel) that buffer precarious situations.