From the street to a home

The civic organisation Vagus has been working with people affected by homelessness in Bratislava for 10 years. The organisation has built the system of support that ends homelessness. Support is provided within programs STREETWORK - field social work, DOMEC - low-threshold day centre and MEDZIMIESTO - integration program. Vagus is not a charitable organisation, but professional organisation using innovative approaches to identify target group, gradually addressing the reasons leading people up to the homelessness and supporting them towards employment, housing and ending their homelessness

4,000 people are currently experiencing homelessness in Bratislava. Slovakia has one of the lowest rates of affordable rental or social housing: social services can currently provide short-term shelters and food for only 10% of people living in homelessness. People experiencing and at risk of homelessness do not have access to social counselling and housing for long-term, systematic care.

The From the Street to a Home (“Z ulice do denného centra Domec, z Domca do reálneho domova“) initiative by the civic organisation, Vagus, provides holistic services to prevent and end homelessness in Bratislava. The STREETWORK initiative identifies people without a home and provides them crisis medical and housing support. It also connects clients to services, counselling, food, and resources at the DOMEC day centre. Vagus also launched MEDZIMIESTO to provide safe accommodation and a work integration programme; it is the only crisis short-term accommodation for people at risk of homelessness in Slovakia.

People experiencing homelessness are involved in all our programmes. Our organisation also works in cooperation with the city of Bratislava and the Slovak national government. We also train social work students at universities and implement campaigns to raise awareness of homelessness for the public.

Vagus works with thousands of homeless people every year. Dozens of people end their homelessness every year with the support of our programmes and social counselling. Vagus is also an advocate in Slovak public policy on homelessness prevention and care. 

Vagus’ programmes are transferrable and can be carried out at all levels anywhere in Europe, from local grassroots initiatives to national state programmes.