Would you like to learn more about our strategy?

Various studies show that adapted educational reintegration with possibilities of success has a significant impact on their life trajectories, enhancing their self-confidence, setting short-term objectives, and encouraging them to take medium and long-term actions to get out of their situation.

We propose an innovative methodological strategy that effectively promotes the social, personal, and professional inclusion of homeless people by reinserting them into the formal education system through adult education, as well as adapting it to the specific characteristics and needs of this group.

It combines working methods and dynamics:

  • From the scope of social action
  • From the educational field.

It transforms the traditional social actions of street teams (support, attention to basic needs, mediation) into adapted and accessible non-formal training spaces, which serve as a bridge to more stable formal education processes that lead to the educational and employment integration of homeless users.

  • Eminently practical, experiential and dialogical methodology
  • Individualized learning pace, adjusting to the individual circumstances of each participant
  • Non-linear itineraries, irregular rhythms and drop-out and re-entry processes without penalty are contemplated, in accordance with the logic of inclusive educational support
  • Safe, warm and horizontal classroom climate
  • The teacher assumes the role of facilitator, mediator and co-learner, renouncing any leading or authoritarian attitude

To this end, it establishes progressive ITINERARIES IN THREE PHASES of work specifically adapted to the different training levels and situations of social exclusion of the participating homeless people

Phase 1

A informal training program where, while providing other services, you provide homeless people with simple and engaging educational materials. In this initial contact, users experience educational materials with dynamic resources to help them pass the long hours of the day. It will be delivered by trainers from social organizations and accompanied by light social measures.

The objective of this first phase is to initiate an informal and non-threatening first approach to education while meeting basic needs (food, rest, hygiene, listening), generating initial bonds between teacher and student where, in accordance with the methodological axes, it is the student who autonomously develops the resources and the educational process that, at the same time, is useful for their daily lives.


Phase 2

This is an informal training with a trainer from the social entity with specific training who will join the street teams, meeting with the user to talk about the resources, and structure their learning a little.

The objective of this stage to establish a personalized tutoring process for users in street situations, promoting more effectively the development of educational skills through more structured informal training, adapted to the interests and abilities of the user, in coordination with their social care process that favors their access to Stage 3.


Phase 3

Once the student has managed to recover educational and social skills, they are guided to formal spaces (where they can also shower and groom) to receive training adapted to their level, short and with changing schedules carried out by adult education teachers and which will culminate in their integration into the regulated school. This stage is designed in a way consistent with the curriculum of module 1 of Level I of Secondary Education for Adults (ESPA), but with a specific adaptation that answers to the needs, interests, and specific situations of homeless adults. It is comprised of didactic units articulated from practical, close, and useful learning situations, which connect with previous knowledge and with the daily reality of homeless people. This training process is carried out exclusively within social entities that work with homeless people, in order to create a realistic and accessible bridge between homelessness and access to formal training in Adult Education Centers (CEPA or their equivalent in the rest of the countries).

How can you implement our strategy?

Step 1: Download our methodological guide

This methodological guide aims to offer an effective and realistic path for technicians, social workers, and teachers themselves in organizations that work directly with homeless people to implement this innovative strategy for the educational, social, personal, and labor inclusion of homeless adults through educational reintegration into the formal system. All of this is done with a comprehensive vision that takes into account pedagogical, psychosocial, and administrative aspects, adapting and providing feedback on the social and medical work already being done in order to provide a holistic path to inclusion for its users.

Step 2: Train with our course

An e-learning training course focused directly on teachers of regulated training in order to train them for their training action with homeless people, especially to develop the advanced phase of our strategy for the inclusión of adult homeless through education, as well as for trainers of the street teams of social entities in order to improve their training capacities consistent with the curriculum of adults. Teaching a homeless person is not easy, despite the fact that the teacher or trainer already has previous preparation, and requires training in specific barriers and methodologies.

Step 3: Download the resources

30 open educational materials and resources for training homeless adults, as well as for supporting teachers and adult educators in training activities for homeless people.

With these resources, you will be able to directly implement our strategy in the three phases of the itinerary.

Step 4: Implement the itinerary in three phases

With all the information, training, and resources, you can now put it into practice and promote the inclusion of homeless adults by reconnecting them with education.

Step 5: Do you have any questions?

Don’t worry, this strategy has been created by a group of experts in homelessness, learning methodologies, and education. If you have any questions, please contact us, and we will help you every step of the way.

This website is a result of the project: “RECONNECTING EDUCATION WITH HOMELESS PEOPLE”.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication only reflects the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

All images used are free of rights and/or have been created within the project.

This publication has a free access copyright under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-NC-ND) license (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/).

By using the contents of this publication, users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the ERASMUS+ GUIDE 2021 and of REDTREE MAKING PROJECTS COOP. V.

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