The Governance of Homelessness in the European South: Spatial and Institutional Contexts of Philanthropy in Athens

Abstract

This paper aims at shedding some light, by contrasting the discourses and practices of shelter-providers and welfare agencies which manage the homeless in Athens, on the ways in which culture and power combine to produce segmented responses to homelessness in the European South. It is argued that central state, local state, church and voluntary agencies resort to different understandings of pity in order to acknowledge responsibility for different groups of homeless people and shape action in a variety of local settings. Official rhetoric addresses visible homelessness but conceals exclusions, selecting deserving from non-deserving clients and 'clean-ups' of public spaces. Radical voices aim at revealing hidden homelessness and sustain inclusive practices such as street or community work, but they fail to secure access for the homeless to housing, income and good quality of care.