A recent article by our researcher Jordi Caïs, along with María Virginia Matulič and Irene De Vicente (Universitat de Barcelona. UFR Escola de Treball Social) proposes a new analytical framework to understand homelessness in southern European “familistic” societies. Drawing from 18 in-depth life stories of homeless individuals in Barcelona, the study reveals how the breakdown of family ties plays a central role in their narratives, often more so than economic hardship or housing issues.
In Mediterranean societies, families have traditionally served as the main buffer against poverty and exclusion due to limited welfare systems. But recent economic crises, especially the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, have overwhelmed this protective role. As a result, many individuals find themselves excluded from both the family safety net and institutional support.
The researchers argue that homelessness in southern Europe must be understood not just through structural and individual lenses (such as poverty or mental illness), but also through relational factors—particularly the loss of family connections. In these societies, the family is so central that losing it carries intense moral stigma. Consequently, those experiencing homelessness often frame their stories around feelings of grief and victimization tied to family rupture—whether due to death, violence, abandonment, or separation—rather than solely blaming unemployment or lack of housing.
This framework also highlights gendered dimensions of homelessness. For women, whose social roles in Mediterranean cultures are tightly linked to caregiving and family cohesion, losing the family is perceived as a profound personal failure. Many of the women interviewed expressed their homelessness in terms of lost motherhood, broken partnerships, or efforts to rebuild family bonds.
The authors argue that policies tackling homelessness in familistic societies like Spain must go beyond financial aid and housing. Reconstructing and supporting family relationships should be a central goal of social support strategies. Otherwise, individuals may remain stuck in cycles of exclusion—not only economically, but symbolically and emotionally.
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