European Union : Dialogue on the Anti-Poverty Strategy

As part of its action plan to combat poverty, the European Commission invited Dynamo International to contribute in an advisory capacity.
Following a meeting held in July 2025, the European members of the DYSWN were asked to respond to a series of questions concerning the structural causes of poverty, the effectiveness of current efforts to address it, and the concrete measures that should be taken. Rich in perspectives, this consultation enabled stakeholders to put forward a set of recommendations.

Dynamo International – Street Workers Network is an international network of social street workers who work on the ground with people living, crossing and working on the streets (mainly children and young people but also adults). The network represents 11,500 social street workers in 51 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. In Europe 23 countries are members. The network facilitates the exchange of practices, training, grassroots stakeholders speaking out, lobbying the authorities and other institutions in addressing exclusion and inequality. European network against poverty and social exclusion, Dynamo International network is involved in the Civil Dialogue with the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

Child Guarantee initiative

Following the call in 2015 from the European Parliament to introduce a Child Guarantee and the subsequent request to the European Commission (EC) in 2017 to implement a Preparatory Action to explore its potential scope, the Commission launched a feasibility study in 2018 that is aimed at examining and making proposals as to how a specific programme could best be developed in order to fight poverty and social exclusion amongst the EU’s most disadvantaged children (in particular: children living in precarious family situations, children residing in institutions, children with a migrant background [including refugee children], and children with disabilities) and to ensure their access to the five key policy areas (PAs) identified by the European Parliament, (i.e. free healthcare, free education, free early childhood education and care [ECEC], decent housing, and adequate nutrition).

A changing context

Many public policies criminalize poverty and consequently foster social exclusion that marginalize children in vulnerable situations and deny them access to several fundamental rights. Social policies are often ineffective and unsuited to reaching this target group outside the system. These children are often forgotten and invisible to politicians.

Some brief observations:

The number of children in street situations in Europe is rising because of austerity measures. These policies worsen social exclusion and the precarious existence experienced by the most vulnerable people. In 2011, Oxfam estimated that 120 million people were living in poverty and forecast an increase of 15-25 million people by 2025 if austerity policies were maintained.[1] Social spending (education, healthcare and culture) has been cut, thus highlighting faulty thinking by decision-making bodies: wealth is being created but is unequally shared out, which increases inequality.
The number of unaccompanied minors is growing due to the current migration crisis in Europe. Eurostat estimated that 23,100 unaccompanied minors claimed asylum in 2014.[2] A 74% increase was recorded during the first few months of 2015. Half of them simply disappear (probably falling into the clutches of organized crime networks).
Several countries have developed campaigns to crack down on children in street situations, wrongfully arrest, move and intimidate them. These social cleansing and security policies are serious violations of their integrity and deny them the chance to exercise their rights.
Children in street situations are excluded from social protection systems and social policies. Most of them have no access to social services, administrative authorities, education, healthcare and a defence before the law. They do not even have ID documents and therefore do not legally exist.

However, it is important not to solely view street connections as being negative. For many children, the streets are a way of developing positive survival strategies and restoring a social fabric in order to (re)learn to take more effective control of their lives in the future. Social street workers work in this perspective of empowerment.

The streets can therefore be seen as being meaningful and can be used as a setting in which children can be helped to turn their lives around. The public institutions need to understand these different phenomena in order to develop/support needs-appropriate care systems tailored to the child’s living environment.

Collective Input and Recommendations for the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy

18 July 2025

As members of Dynamo International – Street Workers Network, European region, and drawing on many years of field experience working with people facing extreme poverty and social exclusion, we have gathered reflections and recommendations from our members active across different European countries.

This document brings together the collective voice of professionals and communities directly engaged in street work, youth work, social work and community development. We believe that these proposals, rooted in practice and grounded in human rights, can contribute to shaping a truly inclusive and effective EU Anti-Poverty Strategy — a strategy that leaves no one behind and addresses the structural causes of poverty as well as its everyday consequences.

Below, we present our input structured around the three questions submitted to our network members:

The main root causes of poverty that should be prioritised
What works and what does not work in addressing poverty
Concrete activities or policies we recommend for inclusion in the Strategy

1 – What would the main root cause of poverty that the Anti-Poverty Strategy should address in priority be?

The Anti-Poverty Strategy should focus on tackling the deep structural inequalities and systemic oppression that sustain poverty and social exclusion. These inequalities manifest through domination, discriminatory practices, and institutional barriers that prevent many individuals and communities from fully exercising their rights and participating in society.

Poverty disproportionately affects marginalised groups such as children and youth in street situations, ethnic minorities including Roma communities, migrants, refugees, people with disabilities, single-parent families, and older people, as well as those living in deprived urban or remote rural areas. These populations often remain excluded due to insufficient support mechanisms and unequal access to education, employment, housing, culture, and political participation.

A key driver of poverty is insufficient income—both from low wages and inadequate social protection systems—combined with the unfair distribution of wealth and economic resources. High income inequality and regional disparities further deepen the problem.

The persistence of individualism and consumerism in society also contributes to poverty by weakening social ties and limiting meaningful social participation. Addressing poverty therefore requires going beyond employment to include other dimensions of social inclusion, rethinking the purely productive vision of work, and strengthening community-based, person-centred approaches.

Finally, tackling intergenerational poverty and educational disadvantage is essential. Special attention should be given to youth work and presence-based approaches, which have proven effective in building trust and reaching young people affected by poverty and debt.

2- What works and what does not work in addressing poverty?

What works:
Holistic, cross-sectoral and participatory strategies: Approaches that combine access to housing, education, healthcare, employment, psychosocial support, cultural participation and transportation. Strategies built with the communities, involving people experiencing poverty in decision-making, and centered on human dignity and rights.
Preventive and early intervention policies: Investments in early childhood services, inclusive education, youth outreach, and preventive social services rather than crisis-driven responses.
Individualised and tailored support: Programs that adapt to each person’s situation, support for training or employment, and street work that engages people in their own environment.
Human rights and empowerment approach: Considering people as subjects of rights, not as passive recipients. Strengthening dignity, participation, and social ties, and encouraging people to contribute to society.
Economic and structural measures: Raising minimum wages and social benefits, reforming tax and social transfer systems to reduce inequality, targeted social assistance that does not create dependency, and redistribution of large incomes through higher taxation of capital gains.
Community-based and inclusive methods: Combining targeted support for the most vulnerable with general community-based approaches to avoid creating ghettos or dividing society into separate identity groups. Supporting both materially deprived people and also those who are not, to foster understanding and enrich personal networks.
Role of professionals and youth work: Trained professionals, youth workers and social street workers who build trust, accompany people in daily life, and help create pathways for participation. Providing financial education and support to young people experiencing poverty and debt.
Life skills education: Teaching young people life skills rather than only academic knowledge to help them prepare for the job market and participate fully in society.

What does not work:
Fragmented, disconnected, or short-term interventions: One-off measures, lack of coordination between programs, and isolated policies that treat poverty separately from other areas like health, education, and migration.
Conditional, stigmatizing, or moralizing approaches: Policies that make support dependent on certain behaviours or bureaucratic compliance, approaches that treat poverty as an individual fault or as charity rather than a structural problem.
Bureaucratic and complex procedures: Systems that exclude the most vulnerable through administrative burdens and make it hard to access support.
Short funding cycles and pilot projects without long-term vision: Projects that do not ensure continuity and sustainability.
Focusing only on care or material aid without addressing participation and well-being: Not involving people in shaping policies, and failing to recognise the need for social inclusion, mobility, cultural experiences and civic participation.
Treating people as objects of support instead of active subjects of rights: Charity-based or purely assisting approaches that reinforce dependency, fragmentation and dehumanization.

3- If you had the possibility to include one concrete activity/policy in the Anti-Poverty Strategy, what would it be?

Invest in social street work across Europe

Establish a dedicated EU budget line for social street work initiatives in all member states.
Develop a European framework to professionalise and recognise social street workers.
Support cross-border exchanges of methods and training among practitioners.
Social street work is an effective and proven methodology to reach people often excluded from traditional services, such as youth and children in street situations, undocumented migrants, homeless individuals, and people in highly deprived communities. By meeting people where they are, building trust, and connecting them to essential services (education, health, housing, employment, protection), street work promotes inclusion and the realisation of rights.

Create local support centres accessible without barriers

Establish local support centres in every municipality or priority neighbourhood, open to all without appointment.
Bring together multidisciplinary teams (social workers, employment advisors, legal experts, etc.) to help people navigate administrative procedures and access their rights, training, housing, or employment.
Such centres would help break social isolation, reduce bureaucratic barriers, and provide personalised follow-up based on real needs.

Break the cycle of intergenerational poverty among young people

Strengthen youth work that supports young people in financial education, skill development, and job readiness, especially those from low-income families or deprived areas.
Promote preventive rather than punitive approaches, including life skills education in schools.
Support psychological and family counselling alongside youth street work to address multiple dimensions of vulnerability.

Integrate youth work and financial literacy initiatives

Fund projects like those piloted in the Netherlands (“Seeing Together, Doing Together”) where youth workers act as first points of contact, offering financial education and accessible, trust-based support.
Organise regular leisure and cultural activities where young people can discuss money worries safely and develop budgeting skills.

Require an anti-poverty impact assessment of public policies

Introduce a mandatory assessment for all national and EU policies (economic, cultural, housing, health, security, etc.) to measure their impact on poverty and inequality, especially in vulnerable areas.
Use these assessments to adapt or correct policies if they risk increasing poverty or exclusion.

Reform housing and taxation to reduce inequality

Implement regulations such as price/rent caps, anti-monopoly measures, and invest in quality public housing without segregation.
Increase taxation on income from real estate and capital gains to finance social policies.

Promote inclusive, interclass and community-based projects

Create initiatives that combine employment, cultural and social participation, and discovery of other communities and territories.
Focus on dignity, participation, and enriching social networks to prevent isolation and break down social divides.

[1] https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp174-cautionary-tale-austerity-inequality-europe-120913-fr_3.pdf

[2] http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_statistics/fr#Les_demandeurs_d.E2.80.99asile