The role of NGOs in homelessness services in Greece

Abstract

This article attempts to study the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in homelessness services in Greece. The central argument is that the expansion of NGOs is a specific aspect of the trends in contemporary social policy. The prevalence of the neoliberal welfare state has brought about structural changes, such as the process of the recommodification and ‘NGOisation’ of social policy, the consolidation of individual responsibility and a focus on the management of extreme poverty. Through a review of the scholarly literature and fieldwork on NGOs involved in homelessness services in Athens, it is argued that many of these characteristics are reflected in the Greek case. The focus of NGOs on emergency services for homeless people, the development of a competitive environment, the dependence for their sustainability and practices on the guidelines set by donors, and the fragmentation of labour relations among their employees are some of the outcomes of this neoliberal direction.