Children rough sleepers – from the analysis of the pheno¬menon to an attempt to solve the problem

Homelessness among children and youth is a profoundly disturbing phenomenon, and its dimensions are difficult to diagnose unambiguously (GUS, 2012, 2013; MPiPS, 2013; Szczygieł, 2013, 2014a). Owing to the complexity of the factors determining the emergence of this phenomenon, its individual course in each case, and the diversity of the ways of getting out of it, in-depth research in this scope has to be conducted. It is also necessary to scrutinise the phenomenon from different viewpoints – the one of young people who experience this state, as well as the institutions dealing with the solution and prevention of this problem. The aim of this paper is to present the results of research on the phenomenon of homelessness among children and youth realised within the scope of the project Children Rough Sleepers (The Daphne III Programme) and to elaborate on the role which multi-institutional partnerships can fulfil in the area of social problems that are difficult to solve, using funds from the EU budget.